Apprentice
by sand-nin-gurl
Summary: (Fin) Orochimaru breeds himself a mute daughter, with the intention of raising himself another killing Nin, but when she discovers the Five have been killed, will she go for revenge against her father, or the ones who killed them?
1. Prolog

**Apprentice**

Ok, look, even though this is really short, this is just the beginning! I am working on the next chapter, so bear with me.

Those faithful to me will hopefully not notice that I am going against myself and writing about Orochi-sama instead of Gaara. Heh heh.

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**Prolog**

Orochimaru smirked into the darkness, listening to the shrieks and screams of pain coming the other room. Nearby, Sakkon and Tayuya looked at him nervously, as his long, snake-like tongue uncurled itself and licked his lips.

"Orochimaru-sama is getting restless," Sakkon whispered.

Tayuya gulped. "The screams of the woman must be getting him excited," she whispered back.

"Silence!" Orochimaru hissed, causing the two kids to jump. "I didn't give you permission to speak."

Sakkon, age four, bowed his head. "Gomen-nasi, Orochimaru-sama."

Tayuya, aged five, repeated the gesture. "Gomen..."

There was a long, bitter silence, as the two children watched Orochimaru's tongue flick and sliver, almost snake-like, in the empty space. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kabuto, much younger at the time, pushed himself into the room, his hands covered in dark, thick blood.

"Orochimaru-sama," he began, but was cut off as Orochimaru's tongue flicked out, covering his stained hands. When the tongue slivered away, the blood was gone.

"Yes?" Orochimaru beckoned him to continue what he was saying.

Kabuto gulped, trying not to look disgusted, whipping his cleaned hand son his shirt anyway. "Orochimaru-sama, Reiko-san is alright. She is healthy and resting, and—"

"It makes no difference to me how that woman is," Orochimaru interrupted. "What about the child?"

Kabuto sighed. "Very healthy. Five pounds, twelve inches. A girl."

Orochimaru chuckled darkly, standing up. "Good, good. Girls are easier to train." He walked past Kabuto, whose eyes followed him warily. Turning, the dark-haired sennin called almost happily, "Come, come, Kabuto. Let us go see my daughter!"

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, following him. "There's something you should know."

"Not now, Kabuto," Orochimaru rebuked. "Tell me later."

"But... Orochimaru-sama..." Kabuto sighed, and shrugged. "As you wish."

Orochimaru smirked, pushing open the door to the room next to his. It was dark, lit only by a single candle, set on the bedside table. The bed was large, with the sheets bloodstained and soaked in sweat. Amongst the blankets was a thin, pale girl clutching a bundle of blankets. She instantly began shivering as soon as the sennin entered the room.

Orochimaru crossed to the bed, standing over the whimpering girl, smirking cruelly. "Give her to me," he ordered, reaching out for the baby girl.

The girl Kabuto called Reiko shook visibly but shook her head, clutching the bundle of blankets to her chest.

Orochimaru scowled, drawing back his hand threateningly. "Give her to me," he repeated.

Reiko shook her head again.

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto cried, "don't! We need her for the child to grow up healthy!"

SLAP.

Orochimaru scowled, lifting the bundle of blankets out of the girl's arms as she shivered and fell limp. "So weak. We don't need her." He turned away from the bed as Kabuto rushed forward to check on the girl. "Let's see, now," he mused, lifting the blanket from the baby's face. "Kabuto, bring the candle."

Kabuto obeyed, abandoning Reiko after finding she was only unconscious, holding the candle above Orochimaru's head, casting the baby's face into the light.

"Ah..." Orochimaru smirked.

The baby girl blinked in the sudden light, revealing the color of her eyes. The right was dark, the same black as her mother's. The other, however, was a light golden color, the pupil long and thin, horrifically snake-like. Dark fuzz covered the top of her head, soft and smooth under Orochimaru's fingers as he gently stroked it. The baby girl gazed up at him, unblinking, as he chuckled.

"You see, Kabuto? This is my child," he said darkly, moving to exit the room, the bundle of blankets secure in the crook of his arm.

"Orochimaru-sama, what about Reiko-san?" Kabuto asked, looking at the bed.

"Oh, yes. Thank you for reminding me." Orochimaru turned, shifting the child so that she was sitting up in the crook on his arm. He looked down at her. "Watch now," he said quietly, pointing towards the bed so the baby knew where to look. Turning back to the bed, he made a seal to summon chakra as a snake slid out of his mouth.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto shouted, jumping out of the way, barely in time.

Orochimaru smirked, licking his lips. "You see? She is weak."

Kabuto gulped, trying to ignore the corpse on the bed. "O-Orochimaru-sama..."

"Oh, yeah, what was it you wanted to tell me?" Orochimaru asked, resting into the cradle that had been set by the wall and picking out a small, plain white nightshirt.

"It's about your daughter, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto explained. "As I was examining her, I noticed something."

Orochimaru tossed the blanket at him, pulling the tiny shirt over the girl's head; it was long enough to just barely cover her toes. "And?"

Kabuto sighed, folding the blanket over his arm. "Her vocal cords are not fully developed. My hypothesis is that she may be able to make noises to show what she wants, but never be able to form words. In order for her to communicate, you will have to find a mediator, or create a new Jutsu allowing her to speak in our minds."

Orochimaru frowned slightly. "Can it be fixed?"

Kabuto shook his head. "Not by me. My healing returns people to their original state. Because she was born like this, I cannot change it."

Orochimaru sighed, looking down at the baby girl. "A Shinobi who cannot speak Jutsus... can speak them in her mind. It is the same, if her will is in it."

Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"She will do fine," Orochimaru announced, lifting the child so she was level with him, her two-toned eyes gazing into his. "Her name shall be Shizuka."

"Silence..." Kabuto translated. "I see. Orochimaru-sama."

"We will find the mediator when the time comes," Orochimaru stated, cradling Shizuka in one arm. "Until that time, I shall gain her trust. She will serve me unquestioningly."

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The next chapter has to do with Shizuka's later life. I wanted to load it but I only had one page done, so yeah. PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	2. Shizuka

**Apprentice **

**Chapter One: Shizuka**

**Several years later...**

"Shizuka-sama!" Sakkon called, dodging a speeding kunai. "Shizuka-sama, we should stop!"

_**No... I'm not through.**_

"Orochimaru-sama will be angry if we do not come back soon!" he protested, jumping back to dodge a few Shurinken.

_**I don't care. He won't be angry with me.**_

"But he'll blame me!" Sakkon ducked behind a tree. "Shizuka-sama, please! It's almost dark!"

_**I welcome the dark. Come out.**_

"Shizuka-sama, for the love of all that is abnormal," Kidoumaru shouted from where he was perked in a nearby tree. "Let's just go back! We can come back tomorrow!"

_**I don't want to.**_

_Shizuka-sama is being a bit bratty_, Kidoumaru thought.

_**I heard that.**_

Kidoumaru gulped. Ever since Shizuka had learned how to connect her mind to those around her, making speech possible, she could listen to their thoughts without them knowing it. It was unnerving.

**_Shut up, maggot. _**Shizuka jumped up onto the tree before Kidoumaru, though staying in the shadows; he couldn't see, her, but could faintly feel her presence. **_I'll do as I please. Just any of you try and stop me._**

Kidoumaru gulped as she stepped into a ray of moonlight, illuminating her pale features. Long, black hair fell past her waist, in sharp contrast to her pale skin. One of her eyes were black; the other looked like Orochimaru's, yellow and snake-like, with a dark line surrounding it. For clothes, she wore a black, sleeveless dress with slits running up to her mid-thigh, and her Sound Nin head protector around her waist. Her legs underneath her dress were covered in bandages for decoration; because she was prone to be bored, the bandages bore the signs of doodling. She would have been pretty if she didn't always look so annoyed with everyone.

The undeniable truth was that, unfortunately, Shizuka was disgustingly spoiled. She was always given whatever she wanted, no matter what, and was always favored and doted upon by Orochimaru. She was hardly ever left alone, either; Sakkon, the strongest of the Four Sound Nins, was almost always in her company, as a bodyguard, and, even though she ordered him around mercilessly, he secretly enjoyed being around her. If she wasn't being a brat, she was quite easy to get along with, and usually stuck up for him if she got him in trouble with Orochimaru (which happened at an alarming frequency).

Usually.

The other times, if he made her do something against her will, such as going back inside when she didn't want to, she would let Orochimaru yell at him, and wouldn't forgive him until he was nice to her again. She could be annoying like that. However, Sakkon considered himself lucky. Compared to the other three, he had it easy. Kidoumaru she out-right hated. Tayuya she put up with. Jiroubou she was annoyed by. She mocked them, abused them, got them in trouble, lied about them, belittled them and berated them. Sakkon, however much she pretended to be annoyed by him, had something of an influence on her, and, if he asked her nicely enough, five times out of ten could get her to do what he asked.

**_We're going home_**, she informed them, turning away. **_The moon has destroyed the shadows. Come, Sakkon._**

He bowed and jumped away from tree to tree after her.

Kidoumaru sighed and starred at the heavens. "Why me?"

_**I heard that.**_

**Later...**

"This is unacceptable," Orochimaru growled, glaring at Kidoumaru and Sakkon, who stood before him. "What would you have done if someone had attacked?"

"We would have defended Shizuka-sama," Sakkon mumbled. "With our lives."

The four of them were in Orochimaru's laboratory, a dimly lit room whose walls were lined by shelves crammed with jaws and scrolls. Off to the right side was a long table, were Orochimaru kept, as Shizuka referred to it, his 'chemistry set.' To the left, there was another table with shackles and chains. Owing to the fact that Orochimaru was not an ideal father, when Shizuka had been younger, it was on this table he had let her nap when he was working, or kept her for a time-out, if he could ever bring himself to give her one. After a while, however, she had grown used to the chains and would play with them and tie them into knots when she got bored, and Kabuto, pointing out that time-outs were not supposed to be a fun occasion (and the fact that they could never get the knots undone), had suggested they change her position. After that, she got her time-outs on his large, wooden chair (which she secretly enjoyed playing with but would never tell anyone, mentally or physically).

Orochimaru scoffed, passing a hand over his forehead. There were a few moments of silence, during which Shizuka shifted slightly on her perch on the arm of Orochimaru's chair, where he often had her sit. She gave Sakkon an apologetic look, but he didn't see it; he was starring at his feet in shame. It was as he had said before; Orochimaru blamed him because he would not blame her.

Next to Sakkon, Kidoumaru clenched all six of his fists nervously. He knew Shizuka would defend Sakkon, sooner or later, but him she would leave hanging to dry. She never defended him, and often pulled Sakkon away so that Kidoumaru could take all the blame.

_**It wasn't Sakkon's fault.**_

_Dammit, I knew it!_ Kidoumaru groaned inwardly.

"Shizuka-kun, please, don't inter—" She cut Orochimaru off.

_**I didn't want to come back, and I made them stay out. They wanted to come back.**_

"May I ask what was so important?" Orochimaru asked, chuckling slightly.

Shizuka said nothing.

"Shizuka-sama is creating a new Jutsu," Sakkon provided boldly.

"What sort of Jutsu?" Orochimaru asked suspiciously, though he looked slightly proud.

"She has discovered a way to melt into shadows," Sakkon answered. "And can attack without detection. There are only a few more things she needs to work out, then it will be perfect."

"That's good." Orochimaru smirked at Shizuka. "You are my child, after all."

**_I'm going to teach it to the Five,_** she answered, twirling a few strands of dark hair around her finger. **_I think it could be an excellent ambush technique for the Plan._**

Orochimaru chuckled. "You amaze me, Shizuka."

**_I want to go back out, though,_** she continued, after receiving a nod from Sakkon. **_Sakkon will accompany me. I know how to improve the Jutsu, and I want to do it now, before I forget._**

Orochimaru glanced from Shizuka, to Sakkon and back again. Finally, he sighed. "Fine. Do what you want." He waved his dismissal. "But," he added, glaring at Sakkon, "if she comes back with so much as one scratch on her, I will personally make sure you can never move so much as an inch again, understood?"

Sakkon nodded, bowed, and followed Shizuka outside. "Where to, Shizuka-sama?"

She shrugged. **_Somewhere where the moon can't hit._**

"The caves?" he suggested, jutting his thumb over his shoulder to the mountains. "The moon can't hit if you go deep enough."

She nodded. **_That'll do fine. You have the light?_**

He nodded, pulling a candle out of a pocket sewn on the inside of his shirt.

**_Good._** She jumped away towards the mountains.

Orochimaru's head quarters were built in the shadow of a towering mountain, sheltered by trees. Unless one was aware of where the head quarters were, it was impossible to find unless you covered every single speck of forest. About fifty feet up the mountain were a series of tunnels and caves in which Shizuka and the Four used to play when they were younger. There was one large tunnel, about a hundred feet long and ten feet deep, from which all the other tunnels branched. It was in this main tunnel that Sakkon and Shizuka settled.

Sakkon bent down, setting the candle in the middle of the room and, using the Fire-summoning technique, created enough flame to light it. Shadows danced across stonewalls, floor and ceiling of the cave. "Alright. It's set." He stood next to the candle. "What do you want me to do?"

_**I want to see if you can attack me while I'm concealed.**_

"But you heard what Orochimaru-sama said," he protested and she went to stand next to the wall in a particularly shadowed region. "If you come back with s—"

_**What's the big deal? Ma will heal me, and no one will know anything.**_

Sakkon sighed. "Kabuto-san went to the Hidden Leaf for a data-collecting session."

_**Then I fell down the mountain.**_

"Orochimaru-sama won't believe that!"

_**Do you want him to cut you into tiny bits?**_

"..."

_**It rained last night. The mountain is still slippery, isn't it?**_

He sighed. "Very."

_**And we trained for so long, and I beat you up so much, we couldn't just jump down.**_

He rolled his eyes, knowing where she was going with this. She always practiced lines with him so he could lie to Orochimaru. "Oh, yes, ouch, oh, my arm, my leg," he said in a monotone.

_**So, I tripped.**_

"I highly doubt this will work."

_**It worked last time.**_

"No, it didn't. You got me in trouble."

**Flashback**

_The sound of metal clashing against metal rang off the cave walls._

_Sakkon jumped away, panting slightly, a kunai in each hand. Shizuka jumped in the opposite direction, a kunai in each of her hands. Tayuya, Jiroubou and Kidoumaru sat against the cave wall, watching._

_"I call winner," Tayuya announced as the two engaged in another attack._

_"I already called it," Kidoumaru announced. "You came too late."_

_"Too fuckin' bad for you, spider-brain, I call winner," Tayuya snapped._

_"Tayuya," Jiroubou began, but she hit him across the head._

_"Shut the hell up, fatass," she snapped, turning back to the fight as the two fighters jumped away from each other again._

_Sakkon gulped as he felt a tugging at his lips. A moment later, a girl's voice erupted from his throat. "You're not taking me seriously, Sakkon!"_

_In his own voice, he answered, "Of course I am, Shizuka-sama."_

_The girl's voice came back again. "Then why don't you try to hurt me? You've had several chances!"_

_Kidoumaru grimaced as, to an outside mind, Sakkon had a conversation with himself. "I still can't get used to that."_

_Shizuka turned to glare at him, and Sakkon's mouth opened again. "Shut the hell up, you maggot! I swear I'll have Ma rearrange your arms like a pretzel!"_

_A few weeks before this scene, Orochimaru had perfected a Jutsu connecting Shizuka's will to speak with Sakkon's vocal cords, and had even given her her own voice. Shizuka could speak when she wanted, so long as Sakkon was within ten feet of her. Otherwise, her will couldn't reach him. This was one of the reasons why she and Sakkon were always together. The other reasons were that, first of all, Sakkon was the only one strong enough, the second oldest, at sixteen (Jiroubou was seventeen), to have enough of Orochimaru's confidence to be able to protect Shizuka. The other was that they simply enjoyed each other's company._

_Sometimes._

_"I can't hurt you when I'm supposed to protect you," Sakkon pointed out, jumping to the side as she threw several shuriken towards him._

_"Then pretend I'm someone you hate, and imagine me saying something that offends you, and attack me!" she ordered, Sakkon's lips moving against his will again._

_Sakkon sighed and closed his eyes, trying to think of someone who annoyed him. It didn't take long._

_"Come on, double-shithead!" Kidoumaru called, leaning back on his back two arms. "I want to fight Shizuka-sama!"_

_Sakkon growled, clenching his fists around the handles of his kunai. "Shut up, Kidoumaru!" he shouted, running at Shizuka._

_"Sakkon!" Jiroubou, the wanna-be peacemaker, shouted in warning as the lavender-haired Shinobi drew his kunai back, preparing to attack._

_"Crap." Tayuya sighed and starred at the ceiling._

_Shizuka looked down at herself. She had managed to block one of the kunai, but the other had slashed across her chest, cutting her shirt, briefly exposing a band of pale flesh before bleed seeped up. Her eyes snapped back up to meet his._

_"Dammit, I'm screwed," he groaned, stepping back._

_"We are so screwed," Kidoumaru said at the same time._

_"KABUTO-SAN!" Jiroubou shouted, running down the face of the mountain, flaying his arms._

_Tayuya had no comment._

_Shizuka glared at Sakkon, plopping down on the ground and turning away from the two boys to examine her cut._

_"Sorry," Sakkon mumbled, moving to stand behind her. "Can I see?"_

_His lips twitched. "Pervert!" She backhanded him with a blood-covered hand._

_"I just wanted to help..." he muttered, going to sit some distance away from Tayuya, since they were not on speaking terms at the moment._

_Jiroubou returned shortly after. "I can't find Kabuto-san anywhere."_

_"That's fine." Shizuka glared at her mediator. "Sakkon, give me your shirt."_

_He frowned. "Why?"_

_"Ma taught me some basic healing things, just in case. I need bandages," she replied._

_"Why MY shirt?" he complained, pulling it off anyway._

_"Because it's your fault," she answered, taking it and ripping it into long strips._

_Sakkon gulped. "That's my favorite!"_

_"What the hell did you think she was gonna do with it?" Tayuya laughed mockingly._

_Sakkon glared at her. "Shut up, you flat-chested bitch."_

_Tayuya was about to say something when Shizuka's voice snapped, "Turn around, bakas. I need to take off my shirt."_

_Sakkon sighed and turned to face the wall. Jiroubou repeated the gesture._

_"I saw that, Ukon."_

_Sakkon gulped. Tayuya reached down to cover the eyes of the head resting on his shoulders._

_Shizuka frowned and turned to glare at them some more._

_"What now?" Tayuya looked around._

_Sakkon rolled his eyes and reached over to yank Kidoumaru to face the wall, as well._

_When Shizuka was bandaged and the smell of blood washed away, they headed back down the mountain, though going slow, since Shizuka was leaning on Sakkon; even though she had bandaged herself, she didn't have Kabuto's healing power. Kabuto greeted them in the foyer, where he was removing his shoes._

_"What happened to Shizuka-kun?" he asked, frowning, as he stood up._

_"Sakkon stabbed her," Jiroubou blurted. Tayuya promptly stomped on his toes._

_"Sakkon?" Kabuto frowned at the lavender-haired Shinobi, who had Shizuka's arm between his and his brother's heads, with one arm around her waist to support her._

_"Accident?" he offered._

_Kabuto sighed and took Shizuka from him, letting her lean on his shoulder instead. "I'll take care of her. You four go train, it's best you're not around when Orochimaru-sama sees her hurt."_

_He didn't need to tell them twice._

**End Flashback**

_**Ok, fine, so it didn't work that time. But he wasn't pissed for forever. Only about an hour or so.**_

**Flashback**

_Shizuka grimaced as Orochimaru gave Sakkon the death-threat of his life. Kabuto had healed her cut to perfection, but Orochimaru smelled the blood on Sakkon, and knew at once._

_"...**or** are you simply **incompetent**?!" Orochimaru shouted, walking around Sakkon, who stood starring at his feet. "Do you not understand me when I say, 'Make sure nothing happens to her'?! Is that so hard to understand?! And then you go and injure her yourself!"_

_"Orochimaru-sama—"_

_"Don't interrupt me, Kabuto!" Orochimaru shot in his assistant's direction. "This is not the time!" He turned back to Sakkon. "Why don't you answer me?!"_

_Sakkon gulped when he felt a sudden violent tugging at his lips. 'Oh, shit...'_

_"It wasn't Sakkon's fault!" Shizuka's voice spilled forth. "I asked him to! Why don't you ever believe me?!"_

_"Shizuka-kun," Orochimaru began, but she cut him off._

_"Shut up! Don't talk to me! I don't ever want to see you again!" she shouted, running from the room._

_Orochimaru turned to Kabuto._

_"She's twelve years old," Kabuto explained. "Hormones. She'll be all right in a few days. She just needs some time."_

_"Oh, that's nice," Orochimaru said, almost pleasantly. Turning to Sakkon, he snapped, "Find her!"_

_Sakkon bowed, running after Shizuka._

**_Elsewhere..._**

_Shizuka scowled angrily, walking down one of the many tunnels in the mountain caves. 'Baka Orochi-daddy... baka Ma... baka Jiroubou-fatass... Baka-Sa—"_

_"Well, lookie what we have here," said a mocking voice from the shadows. "A nice little gem."_

_Shizuka whirled around. Two tall, middle-aged men stepped out of the shadows, leering at her. She gulped nervously, backing away._

_"She'd make a nice profit on the market, wouldn't she?" said the one who had spoken._

_"Can't be more then fourteen," the other answered, reaching out for her. "Bet that skin's nice and soft."_

_Shizuka opened her mouth to scream; maybe the echoes would be loud enough that someone would hear her._

_No sound reassured her. Sakkon was nearly half a mile away._

_"Eh?" The man who had spoken second raised an eyebrow, his hand stopping a foot away from her. "What the hell is she doin'?"_

_"Probably a mute," answered the other, obviously the leader. "But that's fine, mutes make less trouble. No one can hear them scream, see."_

_The other laughed evilly. "Then this should be easy. We should break her in, ne?"_

_The leader smirked. "I agree."_

_Shizuka backed away as the two men drew nearer, reach for her. She whimpered when she hit the wall. Slowly, the two came nearer and nearer._

_'Tayuya?! Jiroubou-fatass?! Ma?! Orochi-daddy?! Someone please come looking for me!' she though desperately as the leader's hand closed over her arm, his grip vice-like. 'Sakkon!! Sakkon, hel—"_

_WHAM!_

_Shizuka's eyes widened as the sidekick was suddenly slammed against the wall across from her. The leader's hand was wrenched from her arm, and he, too, was slammed against the wall._

_"Nani?!" The two held their heads._

_Someone jumped in front of Shizuka. "Do not touch Shizuka-sama..."_

_Above Shizuka's head was a small hole, about five inches wide, that had been created when Tayuya had tried to punch Kidoumaru at Level 1, and missed. Behind the hole, the clouds fell away from the moon, allowing a thing ray of moonlight in the cave, casting silvery light on lavender hair, a plain white tunic, and a red, beaded necklace._

"...**_or I'll kill you!_**" _Sakkon growled, clenching his fist before his face where they could see it._

* * *

GASP! CLIFFY! IT'S WHAT I DO BEST!

Just ask Midori.

I love you all.

Review!

Am short on time!

SAKKON IS MY SEX GOD!


	3. It's Never My Fault

**Apprentice**

Yo! I received....

A pitiful amount of reviews for the last couple of chappies... but o well. I CONTINUE ANYWAY!

BTW (aimed mainly at jazzy) if you want to know what any of these characters look like, review as ask me, and I'll send you a piccie. I have a couple of pictures of Sakkon, one of all four of the Four, and a couple of pictures of Shizuka that were originally Tsunade, but (with a boob job and longer hair) are now Shizuka. So, just tell me which ones you want and I'll email them to you. If you dont show your email on a profile, however, please EMAIL ME AND GIVE ME YOUR EMAIL. DONT PUT YOUR EMAIL IN A REVIEW. This is very important, I don't want anyone getting harrassed or anything, ok?

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**Chapter Two: It's Never My Fault**

_"What did you say?" snapped the leader._

_"What a runt," the other scoffed. "He's just a kid."_

_Sakkon just glared at them. "Shizuka-sama."_

_She looked up. "Yeah?_

_"Please sit and be quiet," he requested. "I will take care of you __momentarily."_

_She nodded._

_"What the hell was that?" The leader laughed mockingly. "Look at this, the __little runt can do voices!"_

_"Hey, what else can you do, shrimpy?" asked the other, grinning._

_Sakkon smirked. "I can make your bones sing."_

_They had a good laugh at that. "Sing?"_

_Sakkon nodded, disappearing in a whirl of speed. "DO! RE!" The sound of bones __breaking rang through the cave. "FA! SO!" Screams accompanied the cracks. __"LA!" Shizuka caught a glimpse of Sakkon with his hands on the sidekick's __chin, twisting his neck so tightly, the skin on the man's neck ripped. "TE!" T__he sidekick's body was thrown at her, probably by accident, landing on top of __her. She whimpered, trying to push it back with her foot. "DO!_

_"Sorry you had to see that," Sakkon apologized, kicked the leader away and __pulling the other body off her._

_"What were they talking about a market?" she asked as he pulled her to her __feet and quickly began checking to see if she was injured._

_"There's guys like them all over the place," he answered, carefully brushing __dirt off her shoulder. "The 'market' isn't somewhere you want to be, even if __it's sort of flattering if you're recommended."_

_"What is it, though?"_

_"It's basically a group of crabby, horny dudes who buy girls from traders and __use them for servants or toys. It's not fun. Don't tell Orochimaru-sama I __told you about it. He'd flip."_

_"Were you ever recommended?"_

_"Once," he answered, grimacing. "I got lost on a mission and some thugs __picked me up and wanted to take me with them but Ukon helped me out. Come on, __we should get back."_

_She nodded, and the two of them jumped down the mountainside. __"Is Orochi-daddy freakin' out?"_

_"Depends on how you define 'freakin' out.' If you call 'yelling and screaming __insanely' 'freakin' out,' then yep."_

_"Crap..."_

_"What are you so worried about? He never stays angry at you. He'll probably __figure out a way to blame it all on me!"_

_"Why's it always you?"_

_"Yeah, you're right. We should find a way to make everything Kidoumaru's __fault," Sakkon mused._

_"That's not what I meant," she snapped._

_Sakkon shrugged. "Probably because you're his kid, and parents are always __stupid about their kids."_

_"Were your parents stupid?" She looked at him._

_Again, he shrugged. "If they were, I don't remember."_

_"Why not?" She came to a stop at a particularly large branch._

_"They died when I was a kid," he answered, coming to a stop on a branch in __front of hers._

_"Oh," she answered, after a while._

_"What about you?" he asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "You don't __remember your mom at all?"_

_She shrugged. "Not really. Mostly I remember seeing Ma, then Orochi-daddy. __Then there was a lot of blood. That's pretty much it." She looked at him. __"Why? Should I remember her?"_

_He shrugged. "I guess not, if you don't think you should. I mean, you never __really got to see her, so how could you remember anything about her, right?"_

_"Do you remember your mom at all?"_

_"I don't, but Ukon does, and he tells me stuff sometimes. He helped me __remember what she looked like, at least." He glanced at Shizuka. "She looked __a lot like you, actually, but that might just be me picturing the similarity. __She had really long, black hair, and nice, black eyes, and a really gentle __voice. Ukon sort of mentally sent me an image of her singing us to sleep."_

_"I can't sing," she pointed out._

_"I think you probably could, if you tried."_

_She shook her head. "It'd be weird. Besides, I don't know how."_

_He raised an eyebrow. "Let me get this straight, Shizuka-sama. You're the __daughter of the Kage of the Sound Village, and you can't sing?"_

_She glared at him._

_"Ok, then..." He scratched his head. "There's no time to teach you now. But __right now, I have to get you back. Maybe when we get back, I can."_

_She nodded. "Ok."_

_**When they got back to head quarters...**_

_Shizuka yawned tiredly as the two of them walked down the dark, barely lit, __underground tunnel leading to Orochimaru's head quarters. "I'm so tired... I __ran all the way up the mountain."_

_"Do you still want lessons?" _

_She nodded. "Just tell me the basics tonight, and __we'll work on it tomorrow."_

_"I can do that," he said, grinning, as Kabuto ran down the hall towards them._

_"Shizuka-kun," the gray-haired healer called. "Are you alright?"_

_"She's alright," Sakkon answered, since Shizuka was stifling a yawn._

_Kabuto nodded, then suddenly frowned when he saw her arm; there were light __bruises from where the man had grabbed her. "What happened here?"_

_"Traders," Sakkon answered darkly. "I was going to tell Orochimaru-sama about __them. There's a market somewhere, and I have a feeling that after tonight, __he'll want to destroy it."_

_Kabuto nodded. "I suppose. But you should let me tell him." To Shizuka, he __said kindly, "I made some shrimp ramen for you. I put it in your room."_

_"Thanks, Ma," she said, continuing down the hall. "Come on, Sakkon."_

_Sakkon nodded. "Hai." He followed her down the hall._

_They were then briefly stopped by Orochimaru. "Shizuka-kun!"_

_Death-glare rating: 4_

_Orochimaru raised an eyebrow as Shizuka shouldered past him, pulling Sakkon, __who quickly bobbed his head politely. "Orochimaru-sa--"_

_"Come on, Sakkon," Shizuka interrupted._

_Orochimaru frowned, turning to Kabuto. "I thought you said 'some time.'"_

_"An hour doesn't count as 'some,'" Kabuto pointed out. "Just give her some __more time. Tomorrow, if she doesn't ignore you, you can probably start __apologizing."_

_"For what?" Orochimaru asked. (Dude... can you said 'clueless'?)_

_Kabuto sighed patiently. "No offense, Orochimaru-sama, but Sakkon and the __others are the only friends you've really let her have."_

_"So?"_

_Kabuto supressed his immeadiate shock. "So, if you keep blaming them for __everything and not listen to her when she tries to explain, she's going to get __a little offensive."_

_"Why would she do that?"_

_"It's a kid thing. They stick up for each other," Kabuto explained._

_"Well, that's just useless," Orochimaru said bluntly._

_Kabuto shrugged. "Maybe so. But I doubt you can change her mind."_

_**In Shizuka's room...**_

_"Why do you always do that?" Shizuka snapped, closing the door and then __turning on Sakkon, who actually backed away._

_"Do what?"_

_"You always let him walk all over you and don't say a word in your own __defense! If you did, he might apologize for once!" Shizuka advanced, looking __ready to strangle him._

_"Or kill me," Sakkon pointed out, getting ready to guard himself._

_"So? I yell at you all the time, and you always make me apologize!"_

_"Was it ever my fault you were mad?" he asked pointedly. "You shouldn't have __blamed me for that stuff."_

_"Yeah! What about the time we put scorpions in Tayuya's bed, and we got __caught?"_

_"Your idea."_

_"...Ok, well, what about the time we froze Orochi-daddy's pet snake and--"_

_"All yours."_

_"Or the time we rearranged Ma's medicine so--"_

_"You honestly are not going to find any schemes that it's my fault we got __caught."_

_Shizuka scowled. "What about the time you shaved Kidoumaru's--"_

_"That was **one** night," Sakkon interrupted, his face slightly red._

_"But it was your fault, and when Orochi-daddy yelled at you, you just stood __there."_

_Sakkon rolled his eyes, holding up his hands to imitate a scale, lifting and __lowering them each in turn, immitating a scale. "Ok, let me see--shut up and __live to turn seventeen, or yell back and die in two seconds. Ooh, this is __such an agonizing decision, lemme think, uh..." He rubbed his temples, as if __thinking hard. "No," he concluded, giving her a look. "Besides, if __Orochimaru-sama kills me, who will be your voice? He'll most likely hook you __with Tayuya or Kidoumaru."_

_Shizuka thought for a moment. "Maybe you talking isn't such a good idea."_

_"You think?" He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, let's work on your singing. The __basic notes for music are 'do,' 're,' 'me,' 'fa,' 'so,' 'la,' 'te,' and __'do'..."_

_**The next day...**_

_Sakkon sighed, and croaked, "Ok, let's try it one more time."_

_Shizuka smiled happily and nodded energetically. "I want to try the fast one!"_

_Sakkon's eyes widened. "No, no, no!" he croaked pitifully, waving one hand __desperatly. "I changed my mind. We should stop now. You can go practice your __chakra drawing, or whatever, and I'll go do what I do..." He nodded __encouragingly._

_She shrugged and walked away._

_Sakkon's happy grinn faded. "...Like ask Kabuto-san for throat-coat medicine."_

End Flashback

* * *

You're prolly wondering why that was all in itallics. It's because it was all still in Shizuka's flashback, like the end of the last one.

I'm on a quiz-thing, so I wish to conduct one now.

Which of the following is your favorite character? (If you don't know some of them, just answer for the ones you like in this fic. If you do know them, answer for the ones you like in the manga)

Sakkon

Kidoumaru

Jiroubou

Tayuya

Kimimaru

Review with your answers! Ja ne!


	4. The Assignment

**Apprentice**

Ah... gomen for the wait! I was busy working on other stuff... H-R threatened me that if I didn't work on Genius in Love, she would hurt me... I'm so abused... Also, I didn't get a chance to write anything for this fic down in class, cuz you know, I'm a good kid. (nod nod)

Kyuubi: wtf... you're too busy droolin over the guy who sits next to you!

SNG: ANYWAY...... Yeah. here's the chappie. Btw, I have the results so far for the lil quizzy thing. lemme get those....

**Tayuya: **1

**Kidoumaru:** 0

**Jiroubou: **0

**Shizuka:** 0

**Sakkon:** 3

**Kimimaru:** 1

Ah, well, KEEP VOTING! I KNOW YOUR OUT THERE!!!

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Assignment**

Shizuka yawned, skip/jumping down the mountain, Sakkon following closely, like always. He had not been able to injure her, thankfully, although he himself was covered in many bruises, scratchs, and cuts.

"You know, if we were going to carry out your plan, I would have done some damn good acting," he pointed out, wiping blood out of his eyes.

Shizuka just shrugged.**_ I doubt it. You suck at acting either way._**

Sakkon glared.

**At headquarters...**

"Sakkon," Kabuto called down the hallway, "Orochimaru-sama wants you. He has a mission for you."

Sakkon groaned audibly.

"And I'll heal you before you leave."

"Ok, then." Sakkon sulked down the hall.

Shizuka waited until Sakkon was out of earshot, then turned to Kabuto. **_Where are they?_**

"Oh, no." Kabuto shook his head. "You're not going to earsdrop on them. This is a secret mission."

Shizuka gave him a long look. **_Ma._**

"No."

_**Look at me, Ma.**_

"No."

_**Ma!**_

"I know what you're planning, Shizuka-sama, and I'm not falling for it!"

Shizuka moved so she was in his line of vision. **_Come on, Ma, you know you can't resist the face._**

"They're in his laboratory," Kabuto said with a long-suffering sigh.

Shizuka smiled. **_Thank you, Ma_**. She skipped away down the hall.

"..._very important mission for me, especially_..."

Shizuka frowned, focusing her chakra on the people in the laboratory, sitting cross-legged on her bed, her hands on her knees.

"_What time do we leave/? _"

"_Patience, Tayuya. You're leaving in the morning. But before you capture him, you have to scout out the territory, in order to move swiftly_."

"_We won't fail you, Orochimaru-sama_."

"_See that I am not disappointed, Sakkon_."

"_But_..."

"_What?_"

"_What about Shizuka-sama?_"

Shizuka listened keenly. There was a long silence.

"_She will stay here with me. This mission may prove to be too dangerous for her_."

Shizuka scowled. _Too dangerous, my ass, _she thought angrily, careful not to link her thoughts to anyone else's.

"_With all due respect, Orochimaru-sama, maybe this mission would give her some experience_," Sakkon began, but Orochimaru cut him off.

"_It's not your place to tell me what to do with **my **daughter_."

"_Yes, forgive me, Orochimaru-sama_," Sakkon said at once.

_Spineless_, Shizuka thought, without attaching her thoughts to the other's.

Growing bored with evesdropping, Shizuka stood up and went out into the hall. It annoyed her, somewhat, that Orochi-daddy wouldn't even consider including her in the mission. Of course, going to Kabuto for councilation would be useless, as Ma always sided with Dad. Sakkon was out of the question, since he was in the meeting. Kidoumaru, Tayuya or Jiroubou she would not even begin to consider, even if they weren't in the meeting. That left only one person.

**A few minutes later...**

Shizuka knocked gently on the door to the hospital wing.

"Please come in, Shizuka-sama," called the tired voice of the sick patient within.

Shizuka smiled and opened the door. Inside was a large hospital bed surrounded by machines, a thin blanket covering a tube-infested person lying on the bed. There was a piece of a scroll across his face, marked with symbols and Jutsus she didn't conprehend. But she had stopped wondering about them a while ago.

_**Hi, Kimimaru-kun.**_

"Hello, Shizuka-sama. Will you sit down?" One of the arms, stuck with tubes, gestured to a chair by his bed.

She sat accordingly. **_How are you feeling?_**

"No better then I was last week, when you last visited me."

**_It was that long ago? _**she asked guiltily.

He nodded. "You haven't been coming to see me every day anymore. You haven't even sent me a thought-message."

Since Shizuka had perfected the Thought-connecting Jutsu, she had grown accustomed to speaking to people who were far away by sending them little thoughts, like greetings, memos, and so on. The Four used this method to contact Orochimaru that they were going to the caves (having already reached them) when they knew he would say no.

**_I was training_**, she answered truthfully. **_But I brought you flowers this time_**. She lifted his hand gently and placed it on the soft bouquet of flowers she had indeed brought him. **_Roses_**, she added, **_red ones. Just the way you like._**

He smiled around his respirator. "Thank you." His nimble fingers graced the soft red peddles. "How many?"

**_Five_**, she answered, bringing his hand down to touch the stems. **_There were only a few good ones. Kidoumaru killed the others with his webs. Sakkon broke three of his arms, though._**

Kimimaru chuckled slightly. "Still the same as ever?"

She nodded with a smile as his hand dropped. **_I don't think they could change._**

"Has Sakkon been faithful with your training?"

Shizuka shrugged.**_ He tries. Orochi-daddy is sending him on a mission, though, with the others._**

"So? You should be happy he gets such favor in Orochimaru-sama's eyes."

_**Yeah, but I can't go!**_

"Do you want to?"

_**Duh.**_

"You should wait, then. Orochimaru-sama may let you go on another mission."

_**Not like this one! It sounds important!**_

"...Oh. I see."

_**Do you think I should stay?**_

"I would get lonely. Kabuto-san is the only one who comes to visit me besides you."

_**Well--**_

"But if you think you should go, I suppose you should. It's not really for me to say."

**_But I want your opinion! _**she protested. **_I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't!_**

"There's no need to get angry. I only meant that, even if I say you shouldn't, you would start to miss Sakkon and the others, and go after them."

**_I wouldn't miss Sakkon, _**she argued,****rather too quickly.

"I'm sure." Kimimaru smiled. "When do they leave?"

**_In the morning. I don't think Orochi-daddy knows I know. Ma said it was a "special, secret mission." _**She formed quotations with her fingers as she said this, making a sarcastic face. **_Secret, my ass. Orochi-daddy couldn't have been all that worried I would find out, or it wouldn't have been that easy to get it out of Ma_**.

"Why do you always call Kabuto-san 'ma'? He's not a woman." (A/N: Someone asked about this...)

Shizuka shrugged. **_Because I know it annoys him. Plus, he is the closest thing I ever had to a mother, isn't he? He always takes care of me. He even gave me The Talk._**

Kimimaru chuckled. "I'm sure that was enjoyable."

Again, she shrugged. **_I guess_**. She looked around. **_How do they feed you here? Through the tubes?_**

"Kabuto-san comes in twice a day and feeds me," he answered. "Mostly broth. I only get a little bit at a time, though, since he has to take the respirator out to feed me."

**_That's pathetic_**, she said critically. **_You have to have someone feed you?_**

"I know. But then again, I didn't decide, Oh, I think I'll have a life-threatening disease, did I?"

**_It's still sad_**. She glanced at the clock.**_ It's almost ten o'clock now. Shouldn't he have fed you soon?_**

"I guess. I haven't really been keeping track of the time, except to know when it's night or day."

**_I'll go get him, then_**. She stood up.**_ And I'll yell at him, too, for forgeting_**. She turned to go.

"Did I anger you, Shizuka-sama?" Kimimaru asked. (A/N: Awwww.... he so cute!)

_**No. I'm just angry at him. I'm not running away from you, or whatever.**_

"Shizuka-sama?"

She turned back to the bed. Kimimaru had lifted one twitching hand, blindly reached out for her. She went back and grasped the cold fingers.**_ Here._**

"Do me a favor while you're gone?"

_**Ok.**_

"Don't believe what Konoha people tell you," Kimimaru said desperately, gripping her hand tightly. "They don't understand us, and they don't understand Orochimaru-sama's motives. Don't believe them."

Shizuka frowned, confusedly.**_ I won't..._**

"Good. Thank you." He released her hand, his own falling back onto the blanket.

Shizuka continued to frown confusedly, exiting the room as quickly as possible. What had Kimimaru meant, 'don't believe what the Konoha people tell her'? What could they have against Orochi-daddy that Kimimaru was so concerned of her finding out?

She paused, coming to a stop outside Sakkon's room. Kabuto had said he would heal Sakkon's wounds before he left, so it was possible Kabuto was in there. She knocked on the door.

"Come in," called Sakkon's (surprisingly and freakishly deep) voice.

She opened the door, peeking in. Sakkon's room was rather plain, with a large bed (he said he needed it in case he and Ukon came apart sometime during the night, and one of them fell off A/N: This gave me a funny mental picture...), a dresser, and a nightstand next to his bed. On the nightstand he had a small reading lamp, a copy of the first novel of BLEACH (A/N: HELL YEAH, BLEACH 4EVA, YO!), an alarm clock and a hair brush. Sakkon himself sat on the bed, shirtless (A/N: DROOL!), with Kabuto using healing chakra to heal a rather large cut Shizuka had given him on his shoulder.

"Shizuka-sama," Sakkon said confusedly, as she had never come to his room before except to yell at him. "What did I do now?"

**_Ma, you forgot to feed Kimimaru_**, Shizuka said rebukingly, ignoring Sakkon.**_ It's almost ten o'clock and he's hungry. _**(She makes Kimi sound like some sort of animal... like a lizard...)

"Ack!" Kabuto clapped a hand over his eyes. "I forgot!"

_**I just said that.**_

"I know." Kabuto stood up. "Sorry, Sakkon, I'll finish tomorrow."

Sakkon nodded. "Ok, thanks Kabuto-san."

Shizuka stepped aside to let Kabuto pass, giving him a definate attempt at tripping him up as he walked by. When he turned to look at her, she simply looked back, unblinkingly.

"Ok, I'm sorry, it won't happened again," he said apologeticaly, walking quickly down the hall to the hospital wing.

Shizuka turned to look back at Sakkon.

"What's up?" he asked, pulling on his white tunic.

_**What's the mission?**_

"What mission?" he asked innocently.

_**Don't play dumb with me, I know there's a mission, so what is it?**_

"There's no mission."

_**Ma said Orochi-daddy had a mission for you guys, and I want to know what it is!**_

"Well, Kabuto-san lied, there is no mission." Sakkon laid back on his bed and picked up BLEACH. "It's late," he added, finding his place in the book. "Go to bed."

**_Don't tell me what to do, _**she snapped**_. What's the mission?_**

"There's no mission," he said automatically, turning the page.

Shizuka frowned and went up to his bed, hitting him across the head.

"Ow! What the hell, Shizuka-sama!"

_**Tell me what the mission is!**_

"No! There is no mission!"

TWHACK!

_**Tell me!**_

"I can't tell you about a mission that doesn't even exist!"

_**Yes you can!**_

"How?!"

_**Where are you going?! You can tell me that much, can't you?**_

"You'd follow us!"

_**Already planning to, so it won't make any difference. Just tell me and spare yoursef the pain.**_

"Nay."

_**I'll sit on you.**_

"You would not."

**_Yes, I would. _**She did so.

"I'm not telling you anything." He went back to reading BLEACH. "You're awful light, so you sitting on me doesn't have the same threat as if Jiroubou was."

_**I'll tell Tayuya what REALLY happened to her old flute.**_

Sakkon dropped his book, though his hands stayed in the same position as if he were still reading it. He starred at her with wide eyes. "You wouldn't?!"

**_Oh, yes, I would._** She stood up and crossed to the door. She turned to give him a sweet, innocent look. **_It's been nice knowing you. Not._** She opened the door.

"NOOOOOO!" Sakkon dove forward, clamping his arms around Shizuka's knees, bringing her to an instant halt. "DON'T!!"

Tayuya stopped dead, walking down the hall to her room. She gave them an odd look.

**_Hey, Tayuya, _**Shizuka said, giving Sakkon a look that clearly said "Tell me or die screaming," **_wanna hear something REALLY FUNNY?_**

"What?" Tayuya raised an eyebrow.

_**Well--**_

"NOTHING!" Sakkon clamped a hand over Shizuka's mouth (a wasted effort, but oh well). "IT'S NOTHING! SHE FORGOT!" He dragged her back into his room, slamming the door shut.

Shizuka sat back on his bed, smiling at him. **_Well? Are you going to tell me, or need I bring up a few more of your past mistakes?_**

Sakkon smacked a hand over his forhead. "Dammit, Shizuka-sama... You black-mailing bee-atch..." (A/N: That's what H-R called her, quote"e;: "She's a black-mailin' lil bee-atch, isn't she?") "Ok, fine, I'll tell you. We're going to go get Sasuke-sama from Konoha for Orochimaru-sama in about three weeks, and we need to get to know the terrain."

**_What does he need Sasuke for?_** she asked suspiciously.

"A container. You knew that, didn't you?"

_**What's wrong with Kimimaru?!**_

"Um... he's sick, Shizuka-sama... remember?" Sakkon said slowly, like she were dense.

_**So?! He'll get better!**_

"You know as well as I do he won't." Sakkon looked at her confusedly. "Since when did you defend Kimimaru?"

**_He's my pet, _**she said unblushingly, crossing her arms. (A/N: No, dammit, he's MY pet!)

Sakkon went temporarially bug-eyed. "Say what, now?" he asked squeakily (Now that'd be interesting... imagine Sakkon, the deep-voice character of the century, squeaking...)

**_He's really nice to me_**, she answered. **_And not just because I'm Orochi-daddy's daughter, unlike SOME PEOPLE, _**(here she glared at Sakkon, who flushed slightly) **_so he's my pet, and I take care of him._**

**Sakkon's mental picture:**

**_Good Kimimaru-kun_**, _Shizuka crooned, petting Kimimaru's head while attaching a leash to a pink collar around the older boy's neck._

_Kimimaru: (monotone) Bark... bark..._

**End Mental picture due to severity of the need to laugh.**


	5. Beaded necklaces aren't just for girls!

**Apprentice**

**Chapter Four: Beaded necklaces aren't just for girls!**

Shizuka stood in the shadows cast out over the forest, waiting angrily. She had been in the same position for over five hours, waiting for the Four to pass the check-point. Orochimaru and Kabuto had passed an hour ago, on their way to see "an old friend," as Orochimaru so suspiciously put it. Sakkon and the others should be around any time, now, right?

_**Apparently, not.**_

(A/N: Before I go on, I would like to make a quick note to those confused. The time frame going on RIGHT NOW is when Orochi and Kabuto are going off to see Tsunade about Orochi's arms. Yeah. So, this is BEFORE we meet Tsunade, and right when Naruto and Jiraiya went off looking for her. Ok? Hehehe, now you know what happened at the Leaf village while they were gone!)

Shizuka sat down carefully, making sure her Shadow Jutsu didn't let up while she waited. She knew well enough that the Four had to pass by this checkpoint in order to get to Konoha, and by the time they reached where she was, they would be too far out to return her to head quarters without messing up the plan. Suddenly, voices echoed below her.

"...Dammit, this is so stupid," rang Kidoumaru's annoyed voice. "We don't need to 'scout out the territory.' We can figure it out ourselves when the time comes!"

"It's easier this way," Sakkon rebuked. "This way, we can use the time before we have to go get Sasuke-sama wisely to think up a plan to get out of the village the quickest way."

Shizuka leaned over the branch as Tayuya spoke up.

"You're such a know-it-all, damn fairy," the red-head snapped. "Just because you're Orochimaru-sama and Shizuka-sama's favorite doesn't mean you can boss us around! I can still whip your ass, you know!"

**_HE IS NOT MY FAVORITE!_** Shizuka shouted, before she had time to think. Dammit, why did everyone think Sakkon was her favorite?! She didn't have a favorite, techincally! (And what's Kimimaru? Chopped liver?)

Instantly, the four whirled around. Shizuka gulped and clapped a hand over her mouth, hiding deeper within the shadows.

"Shizuka-sama?" Sakkon called, frowning.

No answer.

Shizuka sat perfectly still, beads of sweat trickling down her neck as she hoped and prayed they wouldn't find her.

"Shizuka-sama, I know you're in the tree, just come down."

**_WHAT THE HELL?!_** Shizuka fell out of the tree in her shock. She had a soft landing, however, falling in a heap in Sakkon's ready arms. She glared up at him. **_How'd you know I was there?_**

"Were you trying to hide?" he asked innocently, not putting her down for fear she would run off again.

Shizuka looked away, glaring at the tree as if it were it's fault she had been found out.

"Come on, now, you can't come with us." He set her down, pointing her towards the head quarters. "Go home."

**_No,_** came the defiant answer (think "two year old" and you've got her general tone). Shizuka crossed her arms, planting her feet firmly on the ground.

"Excuse me?" Sakkon raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, double shithead, we're wasting time," Kidoumaru protested.

"This'll only take a second," Sakkon said, annoyed at the familiar insult.

**_What will only take a second?_** Shizuka asked with a hint of fear.

"Upsy daisy." Sakkon picked her up around her waist and slung her over his shoulder, walking back where he came from, towards the head quarters.

Shizuka's eyes widened. **_PUT ME DOWN!_**

"No," he said, mocking her slightly.

**_PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW OR I'LL TELL OROCHI-DADDY! _**She beat on his back with her fists.

She was promptly dropped on her butt in the middle of the pathway.

"Ok." Sakkon turned. "Oi, Kidoumaru! You can carry her!" He started back to where the other three were waiting impatiently.

Shizuka's mix-matched eyes widened as Kidoumaru started towards her, grinning. **_NOOO! PICK ME UP, PICK ME UP, PICK ME UP, PICK ME UP!_** she yelped, leaping on Sakkon and clinging to his head. (Koala...)

Sakkon shrugged and went back the way he came (again), allowing her to stay in that position.

**At HQ...**

"NO, DAMMIT!" Sakkon yanked on the door with all his might, trying to pull it open without the assistance of a key. Shizuka sat next to him, carelessly looking at her nails while he tried every single available window, door, mouse hole, etc, trying to find a way in.

"Dammit, do you have a key?" he asked her, coming back from where he had been trying the back door to no avail. "No, wait, don't answer that, you probably locked it yourself, didn't you?"

She smiled at him.

Sakkon smacked a hand over his eyes, allowing it to fall slowly, pulling at his lower eyelids as it did in an annoyed/exasperated gesture. "Is there anything you haven't thought of?"

**_Actually, yeah..._** The low, queasy rumble of a hungry stomach spoke her question before she did. **_When do we eat?_**

**Later**

"I hate you," Tayuya informed Sakkon.

"Shut up, I hate me, too," he said coldly. However, that wasn't what it sounded like he said; instead, it sounded more like, "Sha-ah, ah ate ee doo," since Shizuka was pulling on the corners of his mouth, happily astride his shoulders between his and Ukon's heads.

**Even later**

Sakkon yawned hugely; it was his turn to keep watch on what had turned a three-hour trip into a two-day journey, due to the fact that Shizuka had slowed them down because she absolutely HAD to go back and get her stuff (sending Jiroubou to avoiding going back herself). Now, because Tayuya and Kidoumaru blamed him for drawing Shizuka, he had to keep watch.

All night.

_Damn Tayuya and Kidoumaru._

_Damn Sh--No, wait she might be reading my thoughts._

_Damn Jiroubou! That's it! Sakkon, you genius!_

He yawned and leaned over so he was lying on his side, propped up on one elbow. But even this was uncomfortable.

_Damn beads..._ he pulled off his red, beaded necklace. Then, on second thought, he replaced it, and went to lie on his back.

"Why do you wear them if they annoy you?"

Sakkon sat up straight. Tayuya glared at him, sitting up across from him in the small clearing they had camped out in.

"If you were going to go to sit up and watch, why'd you make me?" he asked angrily.

"Because I'm a sadist," she answered. "Answer the question."

Sakkon paused, looking down at the beads.

**Flashback**

_Sakkon (age 12) groaned, rubbing his back. Damn, that new training was hard. He always came out of it in bruises, or had spider webs stuck in his hair. All he wanted now was to go take a nice, long shower and go to bed._

_Tug tug._

_Sakkon turned, looking around. No one there? Dammit, Ukon was playing tricks on him again! He went back on his journey to the shower._

_TUG! TUG! KICK!_

_"Ouch..." He looked down, rubbing the back of his knee where he had gotten kicked. "Shizuka-sama?"_

_She (age seven) smiled at him, revealing a missing tooth in the front of her mouth. While Sakkon looked the same as ever, Shizuka looked different, with messy, black hair (like younger Haku's), very unlike the long wave of midnight she now had. _(A/N: It's told like this because it's present-time Sakkon thinking back, and doing a comparison)_ Also, she had no means of communication, except by actions or noises. Her smile widened as she held out to him a read, beaded necklace._

_On a better day, he would have cared. "That's nice, Shizuka-sama." He turned to walk away._

_KICK!!_

_"Ow!" He whirled around. She glared at him, holding out the necklace resolutely. "For me?" he concluded in disbelief._

_Nod._

_"T...thanks." He took it, and (ignoring the fact that guys don't wear pretty beaded necklaces) put it on._

_Shizuka beamed to show her apprectiation and skipped away down the hall to her room, which happened to be on the opposite side of the HQ from Sakkon's (Planned? Yes. Original? Hell, no.)._

_Sakkon turned away, clenching a fist before him, his eyes shining dramatically. _Shizuka-sama gave me a present! I can't believe it! I am special!

_"You're pathetic," Ukon stated, waking up long enough to say this then going back to sleep._

**End flashback**

"Well?" Tayuya asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why do you wear it?"

"Just because!" he snapped, rolling over so his back faced her.

**The next day**

**_I'm so tired..._** Shizuka groaned.

"YOU'RE tired?" Sakkon cried. "You haven't walked a freakin' inch all day!"

**_I'm emotionally tired_**, she snapped.

Shizuka was slumped over Sakkon's back with her arms draped over his shoulders and his arms hooked under her legs. Her head was rested between the two brother's (Ukon's head having been removed to sit by Sakkon's head on his shoulders) and she looked dead.

"Why do I have to carry her again?" Sakkon asked of Tayuya, who walked ahead of him few paces.

Tayuya and Kidoumaru looked at each other.

"Because," they said together.

"'Because' is not an answer," Sakkon said haughtily.

"_Because..._ we know you wanna." Tayuya smirked at him. (Shizuka was asleep so this was ok)

Sakkon turned red "No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do," Kidoumaru said coldly, crossing two of his arms.

"No, I don't!"

"Uh-huh, sure." Kidoumaru rolled his eyes and kept walking.

"Ass," Sakkon muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Double shithead."

"Get something original, huh?"


	6. Arrival

**Apprentice**

Ha-ha-ha, yo (said in a Kakashi voice)! I've gotten several encouraging reviews for this fan fic, and I'm really pleased (and surprised) that I haven't gotten any flamers yet. But I'll cut to the chase, since you people are prolly sick of hearing me babble already.

**Things SNG would like readers to do:**

**1) **Do you guys have any songs you think would be a good theme song for the following:

-Sakkon

-Shizuka

-Tayuya

-Jiroubou

-Kidoumaru

-Kimimaru

If you do have a song detication, please send me the song name, the artist, the lyrics, who the song is for, and who they would deticate it to and/or who would deticate it to them (from the anime). If that seems like alot, I'm sorry; I just like being precise. I'll be sure and include you in the chapter that these songs are featured in, though. (grin!)00

**2) **If you have any really good pictures of any of The Four Sounds, or have maybe, possibly, probably drawn any fan art for this (unlikely) could you please send it to me? I highly doubt anyone has drawn any fan art, but if you have, I'd like to see it! (I think it'd be interesting to see how my image of Shizuka has been conveyed)

**3) **Several people have asked me for pairings. I have two questions: Number one, Which ones? and number two, what do you want to have happen (i.e. lemonish scenes, fluffies, etc)?

Ok, well, I think that's all... please enjoy!

Oh yeah.... one more thing....

To those of you who want Shizuka to meet Naruto: She wo't be meeting him any time soon, since this takes place when he's off on his training mission with Jiraiya... ok? Sorry! I promise she will meet him later!

* * *

**Chapter Five: Arrival**

Shizuka starred up at the wall surrounding Konoha. Actually... there wasn't a whole wall... there were large holes in random places all around the walls.

**_Jeez, what'd you do? _**she asked her companions.

"Nothin'..." Sakkon said guiltly.

"Shut up... this is so wrong." Tayuya changed temperments rather quickly.

The five of them had used Henge Jutsu to transform themselves into less-recognizable versions of themselves. For example, Sakkon only had one head, Kidoumaru only had two arms, and both Shizuka's eyes were black. Sakkon had changed himself into a dark-haired version of himself (minus the lipstick), and Kidoumaru had, out of boredom, turned himself into a fifty-five-year-old man for a few minutes, then decided to extract a few years. Jiroubou had turned himself into a hunky, blond guy with the surfer-dude body and a deep tan. Tayuya had... well, actually, Tayuya hadn't changed at all. She just changed her clothes. Neither had Shizuka, except for her eyes. Now, she looked strangely... normal. It was even more disturbing to the Four Sounds then the first time they had seen her, with her two-toned eyes.

**Flashback**

_"Eh... what's that, Orochimaru-sama?" the four-year-old-Sakkon _(A/N: Sorry, in the prolog, I messed up on the ages of Tayuya and Sakkon. I said Tayuya was older then Sakkon. She's not; he's the oldest. When they went to Konoha with Shizuka, he was eighteen. Outside of the flashbacks, it's been two years since the slave market thing, and Shizuka's fourteen. Ok? Kidoumaru, Jiroubou and Tayuya are almost-eighteen, seventeen and almost-seventeen, in that order. I goofed. Just letting you know.) _asked, peeking over Orochimaru's arm._

_"Her name is Shizuka," Kabuto answered for Orochimaru, since the latter was still licking Shizuka's mother's blood off his lips. "She's Orochimaru-sama's daughter."_

_"What's wrong with her eyes?" Jiroubou (the tallest) asked, looking at the baby with ease._

_"Nothing's wrong with them," Orochimaru snapped rebukingly, shifting his arm slightly so Shizuka was out of sight. "And you'll referre to her as 'Shizuka-sama' in every sentence you utter!"_

_Sakkon blinked, tugging on Orochimaru's sleave. "Can I see?" he asked quietly, when he had the older man's attention. "I just want a peek, I won't say anything..." _(Since when was Sakkon so polite? Oh yeah... before Shizuka turned him into an evil bastard by torturing him all day.)

_Orochimaru obliged, bending over slightly so Sakkon could see. The lavender-haired _(shrimpy little) _kid peeked in; Kidoumaru, taking advantage of the situation, peeked in, as well._

_"HOLY CRAP!" Kidoumaru jumped away, looking scared. "They're two different colors!"_

_"Why do these children have such god-damn dirty mouths?" Orochimaru asked, frowning. _(Gee, I wonder...)

**End Flashback**

Of course, by now, Kidoumaru wasn't such a chicken (so he claims) and they all had gotten used to see her with one snake-like, yellow eye, and one black eye. Seeing her without the snake-like eye was rather unnerving.

"Remember," Sakkon whispered as they neared the gates. "We're _undercover_. No attacking villagers, or eating their chakra or anything like that. If we blow our cover, we're as good as dead when we get home."

_**I still don't see what's so important about stupid ol' Sas-- **_

"Don't say his name, Shizuka-sama," Sakkon cut her off. "We can't let people think we need Sasuke-sama, since they already know Orochimaru-sama wants him."

"Do you think it's safe, bringing her in, though?" Kidoumaru asked, frowning, looking at Shizuka, who glared back. "I mean, how're they going to react when they have someone talking in their heads? They're not used to it."

"He's got a point..." Tayuya looked at Shizuka, as well.

**_You guys are _not_ leaving me behind._** She crossed her arms, glaring at them.

"Come on, Shizuka-sama," Sakkon said gently. "You can still talk to us... let's just use that old jutsu."

"Oh, like, hearing a girl's voice coming from a guy isn't going to freak them out?" Kidoumaru scoffed.

"Just because you pissed your pants when they first used it doesn't mean the villagers won't," Tayuya snapped. "Are you going to use the Koe Gimu-teki?" (English translation: Voice binding.)

"No. The other one." Sakkon turned to Shizuka, making a sign to summon chakra. "Come on, Shizuka-sama. Make the seals..."

Shizuka rolled her eyes, moving to stand parallel from her bodyguard. The two of them made a few hand-seals (A/N: I don't know any of them, so... just picture some really cool-looking ones...), then, using the first two fingers of her right hand, Shizuka touched Sakkon's forehead. **_Kangae Gimu-teki No Jutsu._**

"Wait..." Jiroubou finally spoke up. "Why can't she just talk to the four of us, and we tell people what she wants to say and just SAY we did that Jutsu?"

Sakkon, Tayuya, and Kidouamru groaned audibly. "Shizuka-sama says 'Damn you, fatass,'" Sakkon supplied. "Why didn't you say that before, you lame-ass?"

"Well, no one asked me before..." Jiroubou scratched his head.

Sakkon sighed, releasing the Jutsu. "Fine. Just remember, Shizuka-sama," he added warningly, "don't attach your thoughts to _anyone_ but us. And if we're not around--unlikely," he added, at her look of disapproval, "just don't talk, and learn sign-language, ok?" He tossed her a small handbook. "Here's a book about it; read the book, love the book, ok, are we set?"

Shizuka raised an eyebrow, opening the book and scanning the pages.

"In guess so." Sakkon went up to the gate.

"Where'd you get that?" Tayuya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ukon bought it for me a while ago," Sakkon said carelessly, giving the guards at the gate their traveling papers (which stated the five of them were cousins visiting their aunt). "He thought I'd enjoy it, but I thought it was pretty boring, so I hid it. I found it while I was packing."

"Have a nice visit, don't mind the construction, watch out for falling I-beams," the guard said mechanically, stamping their passports. "Good bye."

"Uh... thanks." Sakkon took back the papers and redistributed them to the proper hands of the rest of the Sound Nin's Four, and Shizuka (who was currently deeply emmersed in the little hand book).

"Where to?" Tayuya asked, adding, with a sickly-sweet smile, "_Cousin._"

"Shut up, I didn't pick the scenario," Sakkon muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Can we get some food?" Jiroubou asked, rubbing his stomach. "I'm hungry..."

Kidoumaru rolled his eyes. "Let's get him some food. He won't shut up unless we do."

Sakkon rolled his eyes, as well. "Ok, fine... but then we find Aunt Nonamea (A/N: He really doesn't her name... I wasn't being corny. He means Sasuke. CODEWORDS RULE!) and take a walk, ok?" He headed over to a ramen bar, guiding Shizuka by a hand on the back of her neck to prevent her from walking into anything while she read the book.

"Welcome!" called the man behind the bar, greeting them with a grin. "What'll it be?"

"I want pork ramen," Jiroubou answered, sitting down on one of the stools.

"I'll have chicken," Kidoumaru said, sitting down, as well.

"I'll have a pork, too," Tayuya said tiredly, sitting down in the corner, a little ways away from her companions, utterly annoyed by their presence now.

"I'll have a beef, and Shizuka-sama..." Sakkon looked down at his charge, who was still reading the book, holding it with one hand while practicing the signs with the other, muttering words silently while she formed them with her hand. "And a shrimp," he said finally to the old man, sitting himself down and pushing Shizuka into a chair.

"Coming right up!" (He must be happy... I think Naruto keeps him in business.)

**_Hey, hey, look, I can say 'girl'!_** Shizuka cried, showing them while she made the hand movements.

"Th...that's great, Shizuka-sama..." Sakkon raised an eyebrow, as it really was no big feat.

"You out-of-towners?" the old man asked, preparing their ramen.

"How could you tell?" Tayuya asked sarcastically.

"We're visiting our aunt," Jiroubou answered, tapping his chopsticks on the counter impatiently.

"I see. Are you guys some of them ninjas?" the old man asked, giving Jiroubou his ramen.

"Arigatou!" Jiroubou cracked open his chopsticks and promptly dug in.

"No, we're not," Sakkon answered.

"We're not?" Tayuya glared at him.

"We can do some stuff," Kidoumaru corrected, not liking the fact that he couldn't be a ninja just because "double shithead" said so.

"Ah..." The old man laughed, giving Tayuya and Kidoumaru their ramen, as well. "I have them in here all the time. Great customers. Good for business. Had 'em comin' in here since they were just little kids." He chuckled at the memory.

Sakkon longed to tell him to skip the trip down memory lane and get on with the ramen, but decided it would be better if he was polite. "That's... great, Obaa-san. Nice old memories..." _Damn old man!_

The old man chuckled to himself, pouring Sakkon's ramen. "Yep. Those were the days."

"Arigatou." Sakkon snatched his ramen and, finding himself very hungry (seeing as Shizuka ate all their food), ate with Jiroubou-like speed.

"Oh!" The old man noticed Shizuka, who was still reading, as he set down her ramen. "And who're you?"

"She's my sister," Sakkon answered around a mouthful of ramen. "She's a mute."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear that," the old man said gently, patting Shizuka on the head.

Death-glare rating: 4.

"Uh... it's a very sensitive topic, sir," Sakkon began, ignoring Shizuka's mental correction of **_No it's not, you idiot_**. "She prefers to have it left alone."

"This is getting out of hand," Kidoumaru said angrily after they left the bar, having paid the old man for taking them down memory lane. "It's not that serious. If anyone finds out, we can just kill 'em all and take Sasuke-sama anyw--Oh, sorry, I meant to say _Aunt Nonamea_." He glared at Sakkon.

"Aw, shut up," Sakkon snapped angrily, guiding Shizuka by the neck again. "That's what Orochimaru-sama told me to say. Now come on, we have to find Kabuto-san's old house. That's where we're staying."

**Later that night...**

Tayuya groaned angrily, starring at the wall. Shizuka was curled up in an over-stuffed chair across the room from her, reading Sakkon's book. The guys weren't there; they had let Tayuya to babysit Shizuka while they went off to "scope the landscape."

_Scope the landscape, my ass_, Tayuya thought angrily. _They just wanted an excuse to leave us here._

**_You say something, Tayuya?_** Shizuka turned the page.

"Nope."

**_Liar._**


	7. Until The Day I Die

**

* * *

Apprentice**

Okie hi!

H-R: ROAR!

...Anywhoo... um... Yeah, sorry it took me so long, I'm goin on mad update since I haven't been on for a while... I've updated all my current stories so far except Bozenjishitsu. Enjoy!

NOTE:

**_/Things in slashes/_**lyrics

* * *

**Chapter six: Until The Day I Die**

Shizuka flipped the light switch in one of the upstairs rooms. **_I want this one._**

"How come she gets the big one?" Kidoumaru grumbled, going further down the hall to claim a room. "She's the smallest person, and yet she gets the biggest room."

"Because she can have you killed by just giving Orochimaru-sama a hug and asking him sweetly," Sakkon answered, throwing his backpack in the room next to Shizuka's.

**_Damn straight._** Shizuka came out of her room and made a sorry attempt at a scary face. **_Fear me!_**

"Maybe later." Kidoumaru opened the last door and the only room unclaimed. "Dammit! Figures I would have the smallest room!"

"Stop being king of the Land of the High and Mighty," Sakkon snapped. "We're only here for a week, so get over yourself."

"Says the guy who got the second biggest room," Tayuya said out of the corner of her mouth.

"...Shut up."

**Later that night**

Shizuka shivvered, pulling her blanket closer to her. Damn, it was cold sleeping above ground! (A/N: If you look in the manga at pictures of Orochimaru's house, it's under a tree, so the whole house is underground.) She groaned, rolling over and stuffing her head under her pillow. _Dammit, why'd Sakkon have to be such a loud sleeper?! He's driving me insane!_

Finally at her patience's end, Shizuka jumped up and stomped out of her room and into the room next to hers, preparing to smack the occupant until he woke up. **_Will you be--_**

She stopped dead.

Sakkon's head snapped up from where it had been buried in his pillow. He hadn't been asleep, she found out. He was quite a sight to be seen; his eyes were red and his face was blochy like hers had gotten when she had cried over a skinned knee as a kid. (A/N: I hate that... one time, I skinned my knee to the bone when I was playing with my friends, H-R as my whitness (it was her fault). It hurt like shit.).

"Fuck," he breathed.

**_Sakkon, were you-- _**she began in disbelief.

"You should got back to bed," he interrupted, wiping his eyes on his pillow case. "We have to figure out the excape route tomorrow and--"

**_What were you doing?_** she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," he said at once, standing up. "Come on," he added, herding her towards the door, wiping his face off on his sleeve. "Go to bed, you need sleep. Sorry if I woke you up."

**_Sakkon, were you _crying**she asked in disbelief.

"No!" he snapped offensively.

**_Why were you crying?_** she asked, frowning. **_Are you injured?_** _Guys can cry?_ she thought to herself, scanning him for an injury.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Sakkon groaned. "No, I'm not injured."

**_Why're you crying if you don't have an injury?_** she asked confusedly. **_Are you hurt somewhere else?_**

"No, I--"

**_Why are you hurting?_** she asked, taking a step closer.

Sakkon blinked. "I'm _not_..."

**_You _looked_ like you are. _**She frowned, shoving him. **_Give me a straight answer, dammit!_**

Sakkon groaned, passing a hand over his forehead. "I was trying to... God, how can you be so _innocent_?" he cried suddenly, moving away. "Just leave me alone, please!"

**_Hey, I'm trying to help you!_** she said angrily, following him as he went to sit down on his bed again. **_When someone's trying to help you, you don't tell them to leave you alone, please!_**

"Thanks for the offer, but it's not something you can help me with," he said cooly, hanging his head between his knees.

**_Why not?_** Her voice grew chilly.

"Dammit, Shizuka-sama!" he shouted angrily, gripping his blanket. "You can't help me because you don't get it that you're the one who keeps hurting me!"

Shizuka starred. **_What're you--_**

"Can't you see?!" he cried, slamming a fist into the depths of the covers (My, my, so tempermental...). "Don't you get it?! I love you!" He faltered almost at once, instantly reqretting his outburst.

Shizuka froze, her eyes wide with shock or horror--she didn't know which. But she wasn't one to be left haning; his long silence bothered her. **_What're you talking about?_**

"I've had to be around you for years," he said slowly, not looking at her. "Ever since we were kids. At first, it was't really by choice. Orochimaru-sama made me be your bodyguard and all, and I thought it was pretty boring. But then, hwne you were older, Orochimaru-sama offered to pair you up with one of the others. I said no."

_**Why, if you thought it was boring?**_

"I didn't know, at the time. I guess it was because I knew you didn't like the others, and I wanted to spare you the torture of having to be around them twenty-four-seven. But then, after the slave-market thing a while ago, I knew that wasn't it."

_**/As years go by, I race the clock with you/**_

_**/But if you die right now/**_

_**/You know that I die too (I die too)/**_

_**/You remind me of the times/**_

_**/When I knew who I was/**_

_**/But still the second hand will catch us/**_

_**/Like it always does/**_

"You were always an evil bitch to me," he continued. "But I didn't really care, after a while, as long as it was _me _you were being evil to, and that sort of confused me. Then, Ukon suggested maybe I had a crush on you, or something, but I said no, and he let it go. Then, when I saw those traders trying to kidnap you, I got so... _pissed_ that anyone would try and steal you from me, so I rescued you. But even after that, you only treated me like your servant, or someone lower then you who happened to be your friend."

_**/We'll make the same mistakes/**_

_**/I'll take the fall for you/**_

_**/I hope you need this now/**_

_**/Cuz I know I still do/**_

_**/Until the day I die.../**_

**_Sakkon, I didn't mean to... _**She chewed her lip. **_I thought you _liked_ it when I acted like that._**

He shook his head, still starring at the floor. "No. It hurt... alot."

_**/I'll spill my heart for you/**_

**_I'm... sorry... _**She moved forward to hug him, kick him, hit him--anything to make him feel better--or come to his senses, whichever came first. She ended up sitting next to him and giving him a careful hug, something she hadn't done since she was a child.

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me," he said softly (Whatta hypocrite... what kinda person spills his guts and then doesn't want someone to feel sorry for him?), trying to push her away. "That's even worse..."

**_I said I was sorry_**, she pointed out.

"Only because you pity me for being a pathetic waste of skin," he contradicted.

_**/Should I bite my tongue/**_

_**/Until blood soaks my shirt/**_

_**/We'll never fall apart/**_

_**/So tell me why this hurts so much/**_

_**/My hands are at your throat/**_

_**/And I think I hate you/**_

_**/But we'll say "remember when"/**_

_**/Just like we always do/ **_

_**/(Just like we always do)/**_

**_I don't think you're a pathetic waste of skin,_** she said stubbornly, pecking the corner of his mouth, a childish impulse taking over.

Sakkon starred at her as she leaned back and licked her lips, as if savoring the taste.

**_You can kiss me back,_** she pointed out, after a few minutes.

He shook his head. "I told you, I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. You can't try and make me feel better."

She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. **_Well, can I kiss you, then?_**

He paused, thinking, for a moment, then nodded. "I guess that would be ok..."

She leaned forward, kissing him carefully on the lips. After a few minutes, he pulled away, and said, in a gently rebuking voice, "You really don't know how to kiss, Shizuka-sama."

**_And I suppose you're an expert?_** She stuck her tongue out at him.

"I read books, so yeah, I at least know what I'm doing."

_**I don't believe you. You can't learn how to kiss from reading a book.**_

"Wanna bet?" He (unconsciously) took the challenge she was giving him.

_**Sure. Bet what?**_

"If I'm a good kisser from reading about it, you have to..." Sakkon thought for a moment. "...Do 500 laps around the house on your hands. Is deal?" (A/N: I just read Ranma 1/2, and Shampoo was like, "Is deal?" and Ranma said "Is deal!" so I put this in cuz it's funny...)

_**Talk like a normal human being.**_

Sakkon chuckled (that is such a weird word...), bringing her face closer to his with a slender hand, pressing his lips against hers. They sat like that for a moment or so, until Sakkon mumbled against her mouth, "You taste like strawberries."

_**My toothpaste.**_

"Oh." He moved his lips on hers, deepening the kiss ever so slightly, trying to remember every single book he had ever read (cough-PORN-cough, cough) about kissing. After a few minutes, he pulled away. "Well?"

_**Well... what?**_

"Am I a good kisser?" he said slowly, helping her remember their bet.

_**Don't really have anything to compare it to, do I?**_

"Ok, well, you wanna go kiss Kidoumaru?" He grinned at her.

_**No!**_

"Ok, then, 500 laps on the hands, it is." He stood up, taking off the purple rope all Four of the Sounds wore as a belt and set it on his backpack. He then smoothed out the stomach of his tunic where the rope had wrinkled the material.

_**Sakkon?**_

"Yep?" He checked the back of his tunic for wrinkles.

**_Can I sleep with you in your bed tonight?_** Shizuka asked. **_My room's really cold._**

He turned to look at her. "You haven't slept in my bed since you were, like, eight."

**_I know, but it's cold._** She showed him her arm. **_Look, I have goose-pipples. _**(A/N: Yes, I did spell that right. That's what me and my friends call them. Goose-bumps sound like the mumps or something.)

"You can sleep in here, but it's not that cold," he pointed out, looking at her arm.

**_You've been here before, so you're used to it, _**she pointed out, crawling over to the head of the bed and snuggling down under the covers. **_Your bed's warmer then mine..._**

"It's called 'body heat,' have you heard of it?" He rolled his eyes and lifted the corner of the blankets to crawl in himself.

_**Put that down, you're letting in cold air!**_

"Sorry, sorry..." He slid under the bed, plumped up his pillows and laid down, closing his eyes.

_**Sakkon...?**_

"What?"

**_You're warm..._** He felt her snuggle up to him.

"...Go to sleep."

_**/Until the day I die.../**_

_**/I'll spill my heart for you/**_

_**/My hands are at your throat/**_

_**/And I think I hate you/**_

_**/We make the same mistakes/**_

_**/Mistakes like friends do/**_

**Song: Until The Day I Die**

**Artist: Story of the Year**

**Album: Page Avenue**


	8. The First Obstacle

**Apprentice**

I got alot of reviews in a short amount of time for the last chapter!! So I updated nice and fast-like. Lol. I notice there was alot of mixed reaction to the Sakkon/Shizuka pairing in the last chapter. Here's the answers to the reviews: (It may not seem like alot but it was to me)

**FrAn-KuN: **Ty, I'm glad you thought it was nice!! I thought it was nice, too... (shify eyes)

**Keltosh:** Haha, I just emailed you about an hour ago, but I will respond anyway; You don't like Sakkon? TOO FRICKIN BAD! HE LOVES SHIZUKA! Lol. I hope this chapter will clear up your thoughts on Hinata and Shizuka...

**Dragonman180: **Yeah, Sakkon is a nice guy... he just acts tough because... well, yeah. He just does. When he told her she was innocent, he didn't mean, like, innocent in life... just innocent like... she can't tell he loved her, or she didn't get the hints he was giving her... Yeah, Shizuka's not innocent...

**Lady Light: **Your name is cool! I like it! Ty, I thought the chapter was sweet, too... It went through three stages, started out as porn-stuff... then she found him jacking off... then there was what I sent out...

BTW, if any perverts want the porn part, I'll give it to you in an email... it just didn't seem soft enough for posting.

**JapanAnimeGurl: **Interesting pairing? What, you were surprised? You couldn't see the hints Sakkon gave? Wow, I thought I made it too obvious... oh well, ty for your review!

And now....

ON WITH THE FIC!!!!!

* * *

**Chapter seven: The First Obstacle**

Sakkon giggled (Yes, he did just giggle... wow that would sound disturbing in his deep voice!) to himself, eating a large bowl of cereal while sitting outside on the porch. Every couple of minutes, Shizuka would run past him on her hands, and he would shout the number of laps she'd run to her. Every once and a while, Kidoumaru would pop his head out of the door and say a random number, causing Sakkon to lose count, thus making him count from THAT number, instead. So, in truth, Shizuka had run twice as many laps as she had wagered.

"500!" he called, sprinkling a little sugar on his cereal (Yes, he brought a bowl of sugar out on the porch with him. He also brought the milk and cereal, and, so far, had had about three bowls).

**_Thank god... _**Shizuka kealed over.

"You ok?" (Notice he doesn't get up to check; heaven forbid he leave his cereal...)

_**Fine...**_

"Ok, just makin' sure. I got your breakfast for you, by the way." He nodded to the extra bowl and spoon he had brought out. "I didn't wanna pour it for you, cuz then it'd get soggy and, as the world knows, soggy cornflakes is just nasty." (Do they have kornflakes in Japan? I love those...)

She groaned, dragging herself over to the porch and plopping down. **_Arigatou_**, she mumbled, pouring herself some of the cereal.

He raised an eyebrow at her, peeking out from behind his sheet of lavender hair. "Nani? You never say thank you..."

_**I'm trying to be nice, dammit!**_

"Ok, ok, I get it..." He smirked. "Weird talks have that kinda have side-effects on you."

**_But if Tayuya or Kidoumaru or ANYONE FROM ANYWHERE finds out I'm being nice, I'll break your legs, then wait for them to heal, and break your legs again, you got that?_** She glared.

Sakkon laughed. _Old habits seldom die. _"Yeah, I got it."

_**Hey, Sakkon...?**_

"Yeah?" He sprinkled more sugar over his cereal. (Who needs teeth when they're old, anyway?)

_**What else do you know about kissing?**_

"...I dunno." He shrugged, stirring the cornflakes around in his bowl with his spoon. "Why? You still interested in learning?"

She shrugged.

Sakkon thought for a moment, lifting his bowl to his lips and drinking some of the milk. Setting it down on the porch again, he licked his lips and said, "I only know about one other way besides what we did last night. It's supposed to be better."

**_What is it?_** she asked, picking up her cereal and taking a large bite.

"I dunno, frenching or something like that... And don't look at me like that, I didn't name it," he added when she gave him a disgusted look, picking up his bowl again and drinking some more. She waited for him to continue while he sucked his bowl dry. He took his time, pouring himself soe more milk and adding a layer of fresh cornflakes to the mixture before continuing. "Describing it's really gross, so I'd have to show you." He gave her a side-ways look.

She shrugged again, looking over her shoulder to make sure Tayuya, Jiroubou an Kidoumaru (who had gotten bored with confusing Sakkon) were still out training in the woods and wouldn't disturb them. She turned back in time to have Sakkon's milk-wettened lips pressed against hers.

Shizuka gulped slightly, surprised, as he took her cereal bowl out of her hands, not letting go of the kiss. She felt him move his lips against hers, and she carefully responded, unsure if she was doing it right, before she felt him run the tip of his tongue across her lips. She kept her lips shut, however, feeling that he actually wanted to do that.

Sakkon opened his eyes and gave her a look. "Open," he ordered.

**_Oh..._** She cracked her lips open slightly, and felt a jolt of surprise when he slid his tongue in her mouth, but recovered when he used it to carress the sensitive points in her mouth. After only a few moments of this soft pleasure, however, she felt him retreat back into his own mouth, and frowned, going after him with her own tongue.

_He tastes like sugar,_ she thought absently, licking the inside of his mouth.

After a few minutes, Sakkon moved away, and grinned. "You're a pretty damn good kisser yourself, bitch."

She stuck her tongue out at him. **_You put too much sugar on your cereal, fairy._**

**Later**

Shizuka scowled, muttering to herself. _How dare they leave me home like I'm just some stupid cast-off?_ she thought angrily, kicking a tree as she passed by. _Stupid assholes! I hate you all!_

She thought for a moment, remembering how Sakkon had kissed her that morning.

_Well... maybe not _all... _BUT THREE QUARTERS OF YOU I HATE, DAMMIT!_ She stomped her foot.

A sudden cry from overhead caused her to jump.

"OI! AKAMARU! MARK THE TARGET!"

"BARK!"

_What the f..._ Shizuka went temporarialy bug-eyed as a spray of some sort of liquid spilled on her. _WHAT THE HELL?! _She looked down at herself. _IS THIS DOG-PISS?!_

"Oi, Kiba!" called a deep voice, "I think you hit some_body_."

"Eh...?" The hooded dog-lover glanced over his shoulder. Shino and Hinata were standing next to a small, hunched-over... "HOLY SHIT, YOU HIT SOMEBODY, AKAMARU!" He doubled back, landing next to Hinata. "Aa... Sorry," he said, trying hard to laugh.

He failed when he felt Shino glare at him.

"Are you ok?" Hinata asked the girl.

The girl glared up at them, rubbing her eyes.

"He's sorry," Shino said, scoffing at Kiba's ignorance.

"Oi... what's with your eyes?" Kiba asked, pointing at the girl.

Shizuka froze. _Damn! I was so pissed at Sakkon and the others, I forgot to do Henge before I left!_

She frowned, picking up a small stick, and drew in the dirt, _Sorry, I haven't been able to talk since birth. I'll have to communicate this way._

"Oh. Ok." Kiba crouched down, to better read the writing.

Shizuka glared at him, then used the stick to draw large, deep letters. _YOU ASSHOLE! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, HUH?! LOOK BEFORE YOU PISS!_

Kiba blushed as Shino chuckled at him. "It wasn't me!" he retorted. "It was my dog!"

She rolled her eyes, and wrote, _Uh-huh, sure._

"Is there another way you can communicate?" Shino asked. "Your handwriting is really messy."

**_Yes._** She looked at them, awaiting their reaction. The girl's eyes widened, and her finger flew to touch her lip. The boy with the hoodie yelped and fell backwards. The boy with the turtleneck jacket raised both eyebrows. **_What? Haven't you ever had anyone talking inside your head before?_**

They shook their heads.

Shizuka raised an eyebrow. _Konoha wasn't familiar with the Jutsu?_

**Flashback**

_"Do you think it's safe, bringing her in, though?" Kidoumaru asked, frowning, looking at Shizuka, who glared back. "I mean, how're they going to react when they have someone talking in their heads? They're not used to it."_

**End flashback**

**_Oh, right..._** She shrugged. **_My dad developed it for me a while ago._**

"Whoa," was the only thing the boy called Kiba could say. "Who's your dad, a scientist?"

**_You could say that_**, she said thoughtfully.

"Why are your eyes like that?" Kiba asked again.

**_They're my inheritance_**, she answered with a shrug.

"From what? A snake?" Kiba laughed at his own (lame) joke.

**_Actually..._** She bit her thumb and made a few hand-seals. **_Kuchiyose No Jutsu! _**She slammed her hand down on the ground. A burst of smoke appeared around her, engulfing her as a long, thick shape seemed to grow out of the small space between her hand and the ground. When the smoke cleared, a large, green snake was slithering around her feet. It was longer then Shino was tall, at least as long as Shino and Kiba put together (A/N: I have a picture of the snake with Shizuka, if you guys want it. Just gimme yer email, you know the drill.)

Hinata squeaked, leaping backwards; she had a horrific fear of snakes. Kiba yelped out of pure shock, and Shino gasped. (OMIGOD, SHINO SHOWED SURPRISE! HOLD THE PRESS! (sweatdrop))

"That looks like one of the snakes from the attack on the village!" he said in a slightly urgent voice.

**_Attack?_** Shizuka laughed, stroking the snake. **_It was a test. It wasn't an attack._**

"I don't know what you've been smoking," Kiba said loudly, "but that snake-dude killed the Third Hokage!"

**_Henh?_** Shizuka looked up from her pet snake. **_S-sorry, could you run that by me again?_**

"There're rumors in the village," Shino enlightened her, "that a man named Orochimaru came during the Chuunin exam and killed the Third."

**_Sarutobi? _**Shizuka raised an eyebrow. **_What're _you _smokin' that you're not sharing with the rest of the world? Someone lied to you, because Orochimaru wouldn't do something like that._**

"It's true," Hinata said quietly. "My father told me."

"Listen," Shino said, before Shizuka could retort Hinata, as well. "Orochimaru killed the Third. He's the worst kind of evil there is."

Shizuka's formerly laughing face contorted into a deep scowl as Shino continued.

"Everyone here hates him, or is scared of him, so by siding with him, you'll be hated and feared, too. Don't side with him; he's not worth it--"

Shino was cut off as he was slammed into a tree before he had time to blink, a kunai pressed up against his throat.

**_Say that again,_** Shizuka growled, scowling up at him. **_I dare you._**

"Shino!" Hinata whimpered.

"Now, now, now," came a merry voice, "what's all the fuss? Shino, I'd expect Kiba to be at knife point, not you."

Hinata and Kiba turned around. "Kurenai-sensei!"

Shizuka glanced over her shoulder. Despite the cheeriness of her voice, Kurenai's face was serious.

"What's wrong?" the older woman asked.

"This girl's pyscho, Kurenai-sensei!" Kiba cried, pointing at Shizuka. "She can talk in our heads, and she summoned that snake, and she has a snake eye, and she went _nuts_ when Shino insulted that snake-dude, Orochi-something-with-an-m!"

Kurenai looked at Shizuka with a small smile. "Well? That's some interesting facts."

Shizuka scoffed, releasing Shino. **_Your point?_**

"Sound-nins aren't allowed in Konoha," Kurenai said with a serious voice.

**_Oh, boo-hoo. _**Shizuka glared. **_What're you going to do to stop me?_**

"Oh, get off your high horse!" Kiba crowed, suddenly confident now that his teacher was there. "Kurenai-sensei's gonna kick your ass!"

**_Oh, really. _**Shizuka turned to Kurenai. **_Well? Commence with the ass-kicking._**

Kurenai disappeared in a whirl of speed, drawing a kunai as she did so; but before she could even come close to Shizuka, the kunai was yanked from her grasp and found herself flat on the ground with a foot on her head.

**_I thought I'd get a challenge_**, Shizuka said with a hint of regret. **_I guess the Konoha Jounins aren't all they're cracked up to be since my father left._**

"Your father...?" Kurenai tried to shift her head so she could see Shizuka.

Shizuka nodded, smirking, jutting her thumb towards her own chest as vine-like curse-marks appeared on her skin. **_That's right. My father. Orochimaru._**

Kurenai's eyes widened. "Orochimaru?!"

Shizuka chuckled to herself, stepping off Kurenai; the curling lines of the curse marks didn't disappear. **_Yep. You see these curse-marks? There are seven, in all. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages. Mine is the Ryu seal. It's the third strongest. _**She turned on her heel, walking deeper into the woods. **_You'll be seeing plenty of them in later days._**

Kurenai stood up, brushing dust off her clothes. She glanced at her students. Hinata was literally sobbing in fear, Kiba was shivvering, and even Shino looked nerveous.

"Don't worry!" she cried. "She's just one nin! Besides, our village is strongest!"

They gave her a doubtful look.

* * *

Well, Keltosh, I hope that cleared things up.

IF ANYONE HAS ANY SONGS YOU THINK MIGHT BE GOOD FOR THESE GUYS, PLEASE SEND ME THE LYRICS!!!


	9. Answers, Now!

**Apprentice**

Hi! I got alot of reviews.... I had to reupload this cuz my comp d/c'ed me... I'm in a bad mood... I was so close to uploading this... and my comp d/c'ed me.

#$$#&&#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am calm, all is calm, calm am I....

Ok. Review answers. (tries to remember...) Crap I have to go look em up. I remember a few....

**Lady Light: **I like cornflakes, too! Cornflakes are good, I should get my mom to buy me some so I can eat them on the weekends... during the week, I'm too busy in the morning getting ready for school and finding my manga sheets and crap to eat breakfast! (sob)

**Kie-san: **Yay! Shizuka is cool? I thought peole would react the same way they did to Rei in Catharsis and say she was "too perfect," to quote one evil reader. Sakkon was good to begin with, tho; I just gave him a kick in the ass and made him shwo it more. And's they're not really that young.. Sakkon's an adult, even if he acts freakin immature. But I see what you mean. I was thinking about your review whilest I was sitting in my sister's closet (skipping school...-SHH!!!) and I decided on something: Young, used and deadly. That pretty much sums up everything about the Five.

Sorry, guys, I couldn't remember all of them... those were the ones that stuck out.

BTW.... I have something I would like you all to acknowledge: I don't want to come off as bitchy or full of it, but if I keep getting reviews that just say "This is good... update soon," I'm probably going to discontinue this to punish you all. I like that you like the story, but... seriously! I have feelings! I need to be reassured! GIVE ME DETAILS, DAMMIT!!!

Also, I went on A-Z lyrics a few days ago and came up with these songs for the Five plus Shizuka:

**Shizuka's theme songs:**

_Beast of blood _(don't know the artist, if you know it, lemme know!)

_The Dream_, by Thursday

_Brackish_, by Kitty

_Living Dead Girl_, by Rob Zombie (?)

_Riot Girl_, by Good Charlotte

_(Do You Think I'm a) Whore_, by Kitty (to Orochimaru)

_Naked_, by Avril Lavigne (to Sakkon)

**Sakkon's theme songs:**

_Until The Day I Die_, by Page Avenue (me and H-R both thought of this for him, and she hadn't even read the last chapter)(to Shizuka)

_My Hands Are Tied_, by Sand-nin-gurl (don't ask, ok... I write songs...) (to Shizuka)

_Complicated_, by Avril Lavigne (to Shizuka)

_Adrenaline_, by Gavin Rossdale

_Voices_, by Disturbed (to Ukon)

_Blurry_, by Puddle of Mud (to Shizuka)

_Mistress_, by Disturbed (to Shizuka)

**Tayuya's theme songs:**

_Gimme a Mic_, by Limpbizkit (to the rest of the world)

**Kidoumaru's theme songs:**

**Jiroubou's theme songs:**

**Kimimaru's theme songs:**

_Blind_, by Korn (to Orochimaru)

_Points of Authority_, by Linkin Park (to Orochimaru)

_Streamline_, by System of a Down (to Shizuka)

_Aerials_, by System of a Down

_Meant to Live_, by Switchfoot

I need songs, people!!!! Please?! This list isn't all that good, you know!!!!

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Answers, now!**

Shizuka siipped her tea, gazing out into the slowing waning sunset with a mournful expression seldom seen on her. **_What are you doing here... Sakkon?_**

Sakkon faltered for a split second, almost dropping the two cups of ramen he'd brought out, then recovered. "Shizuka-sama," he said politely, "why aren't you inside? Tayuya boiled the water for the ramen cups and it isn't poisonous. It's a national phenomenon!" He frowned when she didn't laugh. "What's wrong?" He sat down next to her, draping an arm around her shoulders.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. **_You've gotten bold, Sakkon. _**

"Can't I?" He grinned, pulling her closer.

**_What if Kidoumaru saw you, and used it for blackmail? _**she pointed out, resting her head on his shoulder. **_Besides, you used to blush just helping me bandage myself, or having to touch me below the waist._**

"Well, would you like me to go back to the 'yes, ma'am, no, ma'am' Sakkon you tormented relentlessly?" he asked with a grin.

**_No, _**she admitted, tracing the Yin-Yang sign on the skirt of her dress with her finger. **_I like this Sakkon._**

"You _like_ this Sakkon?" he repeated keenly.

She nodded, taking the bait he was throwing her. **_He's a good kisser._**

Sakkon grinned. "I told you."

Shizuka frowned, however, still plagued with the happenings of that afternoon. **_Sakkon, I have a question._**

"What?" He picked up the cup of ramen he'd brought out with him and started eating. He nodded to the other one. "That's yours, by the way."

She looked at it, but didn't eat. **_What happened the last time you guys came here?_**

"We told you," he said through a mouth full of ramen, "we gathered inf--"

**_I wasn't finished_**, she said harshly. **_Why did the Third Hokage and all those people have to die on a 'mission to gather information'?_**

Sakkon choked on his ramen. "Who told _you_?" he asked, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

**_A leaf nin, _**she answered shortly.****Her face assumed the sad expression, causing him to look at her, again.

"What's wrong?" he asked, frowning.

**_Did Orochi-daddy really...kill all those people, Sakkon? _**she asked softly, her voice barely a whisper in the back of his mind.

Sakkon sighed, scratching the side of his mouth in thought. "I was wondering when this was going to come up..." There was a long silence, during which Sakkon thought and Shizuka watched.

After a few minutes watching Sakkon scratch his chin in throught grew boring, and Shizuka turned to the wooden forest surrounding Kabuto's Konoha house. She extended a hand, rubbing her fingers together like one would do to call a cat. There was a moment's pause, then the sound of a long, slithering body curling around Shizuka's feet. She smiled her pleasure, stroking the snake's head; it closed it's eyes, as if enjoying itself. Then, it opened one great, yello eye to look at Sakkon, as if daring him to order the snake away.

Sakkon grimaced. "I really wish you'd warn me before you call it. I don't think it likes me very much."

**_I wouldn't like you very much, either, if you looked at me that way, _**she said stubbornly, stroking under the snake's chin. **_Besides, Akuma's a sweety when you get to know her._**

"I thought HIS name was Koneko a few days ago," Sakkon said pointedly.

_**Can't I change HER name whenever I want?**_

"Yeah, but I think it'll get mad if you keep making it cross-dress."

_**...Shut up and answer the question.**_

Sakkon sighed heavily. "They didn't _have_ to die, Sarutobi and the others. They just did."

_**You can't just randomly die unless you're decrepit and your brain is like, disproportionate to your body.**_

"I know. But they did. I think Orochimaru-sama just got to liking killing by then." Sakkon shrugged. "You'd have to ask him.

**_You mean he's killed _before?!**

"Uh, sha, Shizuka-sama, where have you been?"

**_Obviously not in the know!_** She grumbled to herself for a few minutes, then sighed and stood up, letting 'Akuma' poof away. **_I think I'm gonna go to bed._**

"Are you gonna sleep in my room again? Just so I don't like, take a shower and then drop my towel as soon as I get in." He looked up at her.

She shook her head. **_No. I'm going to sleep in my room. _**She walked back inside.

Sakkon shrugged slightly and went back to his ramen; he frowned, looking down at the porch next to him. Shizuka's ramen cup was still sitting there, untouched.

_I thought she liked shrimp...._

**Later**

Sakkon yawned and stood up, patting dirt or any other foreign objects off the back of his tunic. It was late... and cold. _Time for bed. _He turned back towards the house, running smack into Tayuya.

"Ugh... just what I needed... Another pain in the ass." He scratched his head.

"Can't you tell I'm worried?" she snapped, whacking him.

"Sorry, sorry--WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! TIME OUT!" He held his hands in a T-shape. "Tayuya's worried?"

"Yeah," she snapped, scratching her arm nervously.

"...Why's Tayuya worried?"

"Did Shizuka-sama go to bed already?"

He nodded. "Yeah, about two hours ago, why?"

"She stole my flute again, so I went into her room to get it, and she wasn't there."

"Was she in the shower?" Sakkon wasn't that worried; Shizuka had a habit of disappearing to the wonderful land of Lastplaceyoulook, and usually turned up whenever she got hungry (he had, through extensive blackmail, found out that the wonderful land of Lastplaceyoulook was actually the cupboard under the sink in her bathroom).

Tayuya shook her head. "I looked. I checked all the rooms, and closets, and even the clothes dryer. She used to go there to warm up but she wasn't in there."

Sakkon was worried now. "Did she leave a note or anything?" He pushed past Tayuya to go into the house to check it himself.

"I didn't look for any damn note, I was scared! Orochimaru-sama's gonna eat us if we lose her! She wasn't supposed to come in the first place!" Tayuya followed him upstairs.

Sakkon opened the door to Shizuka's room without knocking; it was in dishevelment; the blankets had been taken from the bed, as well as one of the pillows, and all the things Shizuka had brought with her had been taken out; the window stood open in the far corner, allowing a soft night breeze.

Sakkon moved to the bed, and picked up a note that had been weighed down by a framed picture. He moved it aside and read the note to himself. _Dear 4, I'm going on a trip. I don't know where I'm going, but I know how to get home. Don't follow me. --S. _

Sakkon tossed the note to Tayuya and picked up the framed picture Shizuka had used as a paper-weight, the only thing she'd left behind.

It was a small picture, only the size of an index card, and had been taken several years ago, when Shizuka was about six. She was on Orochimaru's back, piggy-back style, her arms around his neck and her cheek smooshed against his, grinning widely. Orochimaru was also smiling, a strange feat for him.

Shizuka's hair covered her human eye.

Sakkon groaned, slamming the picture against the wall. Tayuya, in her skittish state, jumped as the glass cracked.

"What now?" she snapped, trying to sound angry even though she was scared for her life; Sakkon could be really scary sometimes. "Are we going after her?"

"We can't. She gave orders." Sakkon plopped down on Shizuka's barren bed. "Besides, I don't know where she's gone. She could be anywhere. Right now, what's important is Orochimaru-sama. We can look for Shizuka-sama when they leave again, and tell them she's gone off training and doesn't want to be bothered, or something."

"But--"

"Look, I want to find her as much as you do, ok, but at least I'm not being selfish and thinking about myself!" Sakkon glared at her. "Think about Orochimaru-sama! This is how you're repaying him for taking you in? By worrying about yourself?"

Tayuya shut herself up, glaring.

Sakkon turned to the window as a soft rain pitter-pattered on the glass. _Shizuka-sama... please don't..._

**Meanwhile**

Shizuka panted softly, standing in the tunnel leading to Orochimaru's head quarters. She was drenched from head to foot, dripping water in the sheltered area. Having run the entire way from Konoha to the Sound village, she was tired, sore, and seriously wanted to just go to bed, but knew she couldn't. If the Four had any guts at all, they would abandon the mission at once, and that would ruin everything.

Shizuka sniffed slightly, shaking her head, sending water droplets flying, before opening the door to the hospital room. **_Kimimaru?_**

"I thought you went with the Four to Konoha?"

_**I did...**_

"Then why are you here?"

She shrugged, sitting down next to his bed. **_I didn't feel like staying. Besides, I'm going on a training trip._**

"Since when?"

_**Since I decided I was going to. **_

"Where are you going?"

_**I don't know... somewhere pretty far away from here.**_

"Why?"

_**Because Orochimaru's a lying asshole.**_

"Don't say that about Orochimaru-sama."

_**Did he tell me the truth about what happened last time he was in Konoha?**_

"I _told_ you not to believe those damn Leaf nins..."

_**Didn't he lie to me? He didn't go there to test Konoha, he went there to kill the Third and get Sasuke.**_

"Sasuke-sama is an important role in Orochimaru's dream. He needs the Sharingen."

_**That doesn't give him the right to lie to me, though, does it?**_

"No, no, I suppose not... I suppose he did so you wouldn't hate him. Parents don't like to have their children hate him."

**_Little too late for that, don't you think?_** Shizuka stood up, thoroughly annoyed. She knew for a fact Kimimaru would support Orochimaru's decisions without question; maybe she'd just come to argue her point. (A/N: Arguing always helps me figure stuff out... I don't know why, it just does...)

"Shizuka-sama?"

She turned.

"You seem different... did something else happen in Konoha?"

Shizuka thought for a moment; she was thoroughly grateful to whatever god had taken pity on her and made sure Kimimaru's eyes were covered, for she found to her horror that she blushed when she thought back to Sakkon's "kissing lessons." **_No, _**she answered after a few moments of wonderful flashback time. She turned back to the door.

Maybe it'd be worth it to go back to Konoha if she could have a few more moments like that.

* * *

I need to get to work! Normally, I have an extra chapter or two to hide behind when I write the next one, but this is the last chapter I've written... I need to work on 9!!

G'BYE! OFF TO WORK!!!

P.S.: I'll try and remember to include links in my next installment. Just remind me when you review, ok? I'll probably forget.

Cliff-hanger-thing-to-Annoy-Midori-if-she-reads-this-crap:

_How will Orochimaru react when he finds out his secret from Shizuka has been found out?_

_Is Sakkon going to live to turn nineteen if Orochi finds out he's been kissing his daughter?_

_ALSO.... Dialoge snippet:_

**_Where am I?_**

"Where do you think? It's hot, dusty, and too freakin bright. You do the math, snake-girl."

Shizuka looked up, her eyes wide; three people looked down at her, one with short, spiky hair, one with spiky ponytails, and one with....

_Does that guy have cat ears...?_


	10. Sunaga!

**Apprentice**

TEN reviews for the last chapter!! HOLY CRAP!!! (stare!) I feel happy...

I remembered to put in the links!!!!!!! No one reminded me.... I know a couple of you already know what the Four look like and all... but there are certain few who don't!!!

QUIZ -for those who know the manga-: Why does Sakkon have that huge scroll on his back?

A: It's good for his posture

B: It goes with his outfit

C: He seals things in it

D: He hides Shizuka in it

Review with answer! I will unveil the stupidity of people soon!

My review answers!! (Sorry to the people I forgot to respond to last time... my memory sucks more then H-R's on some days...)

**Jazzywolf:** Yes that was good motivation... ty!

**Joann:** Uh... honey? I hate short reviews.. I don't wanna sound bitchy, but I've had a bad day so please excuse me... AND LEAVE LONGER REVIEWS!

**Chaos-sempai**: Thankies!!! That's the nicest thing anyone's said about this so far!!! (happy face; glomp!) Thankies!!! Is that Naruto theme the newest one...? All of these themes are so cheerful... IT'S NOT CHEERFUL DAMMIT!!

**A random student: **Did the picture really seem that weird...? Good! (grin) I kind of wanted to make the point that Orochi acts differently around Shizuka (e.i.: smiling) because he, one, likes her more, and two, doesn't want to come off as a ruthless killer. I'm glad you think Sakkon is cool, though! Me, too! (as if you couldn't tell...) (H-R: You have the weirdest name ever...)

**jazzywolf: **I is glad you liked it! ...I talked to you just the other day, didn't I...? Huh, go figure...

**kie-san: **Heh heh heh... Yes, the sand-nins have arrived! (I promised H-R that if she read this story, the sand-nins would show up, but I was planning on putting them in anyway) I'm glad you like all my characters, but, unfortunately... you know what happens in the whole Sasuke-thing, right? I can't change Kishimoto-sama's plot too too much... (sob) Yeah, I don't guess too many people like Rei, since Rei is like "the ultimate ninja" and whatnot... I don't like her myself... SHE BEAT UP NEJI!!!! (shocked face)

**Malitia**: I want to send you the pics.... But your e-mail is funky and it won't let me. I have made you into a Sakkon lover? Ok... but remember: HE BELONGS TO SHIZUKA! SO DOES KIMI-KUN! (what are they, socks?) I watch eps 78 alot, too... when I first saw the tapes (before I was a Sakkon-maniac and read the manga) when I first saw Sakkon, I thought he was a girl... then he spoke. I was like "WHAT THE FREAKIN HELL?!" and rewinded it and watched it over... and over... and over just to make sure. Then, in the manga it said "Note: The speaker is a man." I was like "ooohhh..."

**Dragonman180: **WHOA, FUNNY MENTAL PICTURE!!! (eyes wide) Crikeys.... Yeah, I can see him stalking her date, too... And I even know who that date will be... but I won't tell! (Kenshin face)

**Shells: **Uh... honey? Buddy, dude, reviewer, friend, amigo.... Sasuke? Um.... I will now direct you to a scene in preveious chapters.... where Shizuka YELLS AT HIM FOR BEING A FRIDGET CONTAINOR-STEALER!!! Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Sasuke... but don't get your hopes up.

**Lady Light: **Yes... Mr Puppetteer has cat ears... I WANT HIS HOOD SO DAMN BAD! Kan-kun is my baby!!

I'm so glad this has become so popular so quickly!! I didn't think people would like it, but apparently... you do! This fic hit 58 reviews last time I checked... let's go for 70, ok? WE MUST BEAT _GENIUS IN LOVE _(currently my most popular)!!!

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**Chapter Nine: Sunaga!?**

Shizuka rolled over, over-come with doziness. She felt nice, cool sheetsunder her, and could smell house-like smells (i.e.: cleaning supplies, cooking, etc). A wave of fear over-came her; what was she doing in a house?! The last thing she remembered was a blinding heat, her skin burning, and then, she recalled, a soft, pillowly sensation, like she was floating on air.

As her senses slowly came back to her, she heard voices, or, rather, thoughts floating above her head. She focused on them curiously, wondering if the Four had actually caught up to her.

_Interesting eyes... like she just woke up and forgot to put make-up on the other one..._

_This is weird... Why's he always have to bring everything and everybody he finds in the desert home with him?_

_I think I'll try pork ramen today..._

Shizuka thought back; so she was in the desert; that would explain the blinding heat and her skin burning. _But wait... this doesn't make sense, _she though confusedly. _I was heading for the Thunder Country... How could I go from Sound to Thunder to Desert?_

She opened her eyes, determines to figure this out. **_Where am I?_**

"Where do you think? It's hot, dusty and unbearbly bright. You put it together, snake-girl."

Shizuka looked up, her eyes wide; three shadows loomed over her; one, shorter then the other, had short, spiky hair; the other, slightly taller, had spiky ponytails, and the last and tallest, had....

_Are those cat ears?_

**_Are you human? _**she asked the cat-guy, just to be sure.

"Che." He crossed his arms, looking away. "Fine way to repay us for saving you from the desert."

"What's wrong with the desert?" asked the smallest shadow, in a quiet-yet-powerful voice.

"Nothing, if you happen to be able to control all the sand," the cat-guy pointed out.

"Come on, guys, don't argue," protested the pony-tailed shadow before the smaller shadow could cover the other one in what appeared to be something deadly, since the tallest shadow started whimpering.

_**Who the hell ARE you people?!**_

They paused, looking at her. "You don't know us? We know you," the pony-tailed shadow said.

_**Well, excuse me for being out of the loop, but you people are weird, I've never seen you before in my life!**_

They looked at each other. "I'm Temari," the girl said. "This is Kankurou, yes, he is human, and this is Gaara." She gestured to the other two in turn.

**_Gaara?_** Shizuka thought for a moment; where had she heard that name? The three waited patiently while she racked her brains. After a few moments of thought, something clicked, and she jumped up, pointing excitedly at the shadow called Gaara, nodding.**_ Yeah, yeah! He's--he's-- _**She paused to think again.

Temari rolled her eyes. "Don't strain yourself too hard, now."

Shizuka glared.

"Gaara's the one who brought you home," Temari offered, nodding to her littlest brother, who said nothing, just looked away.

**_Huh?_** Shizuka started wracking her brains again, but stopped when she felt a stinging pain; she looked down at her hands. Her skin was red and peeling; some places were even oozing some sort of clear liquid. She grimaced. **_What the hell?_**

"You got sunburned," Temari answered. "It'll hurt for a while, but that'll go away, soon."

**_Are you the only one who talks? _**Shizuka asked haughtily, blowing on her sunburned skin. However, as her breath was hot, this only proved to agitate her burns even more.

"I talk!" Kankurou insisted. "I just talked to you!"

Shizuka looked at Gaara expectantly, waiting for him to defend his silence, but found he wasn't paying attention; his eyes were screwed shut and his hand was at his forehead, like he had a headache. Suddenly, an eery, dark voice echoed in Shizuka's head.

(**_...should have just left her to die out there. Her blood looks good..._**)

_Shut up, you damn demon! I told you I wasn't going to kill anyone else for you!_

Shizuka starred, her eyes wide.

There was a moment of silence.

**_WHAT THE HELL?! _**she yelped, jumping away, despite the stinging pain in her skin. Gaara looked up, slightly confused. **_What the hell was that?!_**

Temari and Kankurou looked at each other confusedly, but comphrehension dawned on Gaara. "It's Shukaku," he answered in his quiet voice. "It's the living soul of an elder priest of our village, that was bound inside me before I was born. It talks to me alot."

Shizuka continued to stare as Temari slowly understood and Kankurou decided to work it out out loud. "She can hear it? That's... not normal."

**_I can hear people's thoughts, _**Shizuka supplied, snapping back to her senses. **_I can't use my vocal chords since birth, so my dad developed a way for me to communicate through thoughts._**

"Yeah, we know," Temari said casually. When Shizuka looked at her confusedly, she added, "Our dad and your dad were allies a while ago. We heard about Orochimaru's daughter; you must be her, right?"

Shizuka started to answer with the usual, "Yes, I'm Orochimaru's daughter, now get on your knees and pray I don't have him decaptitate you," but stopped; that joke wasn't funny anymore: she knew now Orochimaru _would_ kill anyone she didn't like. The jokes and comments Sakkon and the others had made made sense to her now.

**Flashback**

_"Fine. Do what you want." He waved his dismissal. "But," he added, glaring at Sakkon, "if she comes back with so much as one scratch on her, I will personally make sure you can never move so much as an inch again, understood?"_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_"You don't remember your mom at all?"_

_She shrugged. "Not really. Mostly I remember seeing Ma, then Orochi-daddy. Then there was a lot of blood. That's pretty much it." _

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_"Traders," Sakkon answered darkly. "I was going to tell Orochimaru-sama about them. There's a market somewhere, and I have a feeling that after tonight, he'll want to destroy it."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_"You always let him walk all over you and don't say a word in your own _

_defense! If you did, he might apologize for once!" Shizuka advanced, looking ready to strangle him._

_"Or kill me," Sakkon pointed out, getting ready to guard himself._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_Sakkon rolled his eyes, holding up his hands to imitate a scale, lifting and lowering them each in turn, immitating a scale. "Ok, let me see--shut up and live to turn seventeen, or yell back and die in two seconds. Ooh, this is such an agonizing decision, lemme think, uh..." He rubbed his temples, as if thinking hard. "No," he concluded, giving her a look. _

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_"How come she gets the big one?" Kidoumaru grumbled, going further down the hall to claim a room. "She's the smallest person, and yet she gets the biggest room."_

_"Because she can have you killed by just giving Orochimaru-sama a hug and asking him sweetly," Sakkon answered, throwing his backpack in the room next to Shizuka's._

_**Damn straight.** Shizuka came out of her room and made a sorry attempt at a scary face. **Fear me!**_

**End flashback**

Suddenly, none of it seemed funny anymore. They'd all lied to her deliberately, even Kimimaru. A feeling of betrayal boiled inside her, coming out in the form of two small tears, which she instantly wiped away before any of the three could see.

But Gaara saw.

And he understood.

**Later that night**

Shizuka sat in the hospital bed she had been deposited on, starring out the near-bye window. It felt strange, but this was the first time she had actually really looked out a window; there were no windows in the Sound Village's head quarters, except in the hospital wing, and she normally paid so much attention to Kimimaru, she didn't notice them when she was in there. There was a window in her room in Konoha, as well, but, again, she hadn't paid attention. She found she enjoyed watching as people moved around below her, or watching wisps of wind as they caught the sane and sent it into spirals.

She felt the presence behind her before they could say anything. **_Do you and your demon want to talk some more? _**she asked, rather coldly, for she wasn't in a good mood.

Gaara scoffed slightly, stopping in the doorway.

_**Well?**_

No answer.

**_If you're not going to talk, go away. You're wasting my alone-time._** She turned back to the window.

Gaara's eye twitched. No one had talked to him with such insolence since... Ok, since this morning when he walked in on Temari getting dressed, but still--No one spoke to Gaara of the Desert like that!

(**_Apparently, she just did_**.)

_Shut up, you god damn demon, just stay out of my head! _He turned on his heal, going back down the hall.

**_I can hear you, you know_**, Shizuka called after him.

Gaara stopped for a few moments, then said coldly, "Then you shouldn't need to ask why I came." He continued down the hall.

**_Actually, I didn't catch that part and I can't push rewind,_** she said angrily; no answer. _Damn these people are weird!_

* * *

Wow, yeah, I seriously just sat down and wrote this as soon as I posted the last one... that's why it came so fast. SORRY FOR THE LINKS!! (sob) It won't let me put them in!! BUT... I can give directions to a very good site that has them!

Ok, go to Anime galleries dot net....

Now, go to NARUTO... you should see several folders of your favorite characters--IGNORE! Go down to the bottom of the list; there should be one called Sound nins. CLICK. Sakkon and the others appear in the 6th page. It's not that hard to tell who's who if you pay attention to my discriptions. Sakkon has light lavender-blue hair and a necklace and too heads, Kidoumaru has six arms, Tayuya has red hair and is the only girl... Jiroubou is fat.

This site has really good pictures of everyone, I suggest you look at them!


	11. The Breaking Point

**Apprentice**

Well, how was your Halloween? Mine was awesome! I was an undercover cop!

Kyuubi: Do undercover cops normally wear Sketchers, jeans and a Beanie?

...Shut up, I wore a shirt!! Anyway, it was really funny, cuz we went to this guy, Bagel's house (Or, Joe, if you read my quotes) and we don't really talk anymore, but I was hyped up and happy with the world. So, anyway, we were standing around on the sidwalk waiting for Erin's cousin Bella to finish with this house next to Bagel's and he came out of his house with his bowl of candy and he was like, "You guys want some candy, too?" and, of course, we were like, Ya! So we went up there, and I got an orange Kitkat, and then let Erin and Rach get some, and then I reached in again and got something else and said "You forgot me." It was really funny. I used to have the biggest crush on him (still do, sort of...) so it was kinda weird, cheatin him off his candy.

I wanna know what you all were! And if you didn't dress up, you have no Halloween spirit what-so-ever!

My review-answers (P.S.: I won't be posting them up here anymore; it's too hard, so I'll just try and remember to respond to the ones I like. Sorry! I do read them all, tho and they make me really happy!)

**Konosuke15: **Thankies for your review! Unfortunately, I can't display that information at this point in time... it's con-fee-dent-ee-ality. However, keep reading and you'll find out!

**Malitia: **Ohhhh... I didn't know it was a zero!! My bad... okies I will try to figure this out, then... and send you the piccies!!

**JapanAnimeGirl: **Actually... you don't want to update as fast as me... the only reason I can update so fast is because, quite frankly, I don't have a life. I spend it on the comp, typing or reverting pictures... You don't want this to be your life! I have none! YOU DIDN'T READ THE MANGA!?!?!?! NANI?!!! (shoves the books in your hands and pushes you to a corner) Read, dammit!!

**Joann: **Hi... thanks... leave another short one and I will bite you. I'm sorry but I'm honestly not in a mood right now, and short reviews bug me. I may just be full of it, but you know, right now I don't care.

**Jazzywolf: **Aha, does he indeed....? Lol, thankies! I will update as soon as possible! I have to make up my geometry homework first... grumble grumble

**Special thanks to:**

**Keltosh,** for helping me figure out my characters better, and giving me lots of ideas. (grin!) DISTURBED FOREVER, YO!

**H-R, **for making me put Gaara in it... Gaara fans have her to thank, he honestly wasn't going to be in it...

**Myself, **for not having a life, thus being able to write this stuff so fast.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Eleven: The Breaking Point**

Shizuka sighed heavily, starring out her window; how many days had gone by since she ran away from Konoha? One? Two? A week? A month? It was hard to keep track of the days in this wasted village of redemption. She'd lost count at twelve; day melted smoothly into night, and not a sound graced her prescence, except for the scraping of the door to her room as the girl called Temari brought her her food. Occasionally, Gaara would come, just to stand in the doorway and stare at her for a few minutes, then leave. She didn't bother to read their thoughts; what did it matter anyway?

But one question still nagged continually at her soul: _Had the Four gone back to get Sasuke yet?_

One day, when Temari brought her her lunch, she asked how long she had been there. Temari thought for a moment, then answered, "Two weeks."

Two weeks. Two nights spent in Konoha, one day's worth of time on the road between Suna, the Sound and Konoha... four days until the Sound's Four left for Konoha again.

But then again, what did she care? The Sound had lied to her, everyone, even Sakkon and Kimimaru. Why should she go back and try to help them, or prevent them from getting Sasuke? It wasn't so bad in Sunaga; no one bothered her, she had three meals a day, and even that cat-faced guy wasn't that bad, even if he did speed up a little every time he walked past her door.

As Temari turned back to the door on her way out, she was stopped by Kankurou, who was leading a hooded ninja in. "He wants to see her." He nodded to Shizuka, who paid them no attention, deep in thought.

Temari shrugged, allowing the Nin to walk past.

"Shizuka-sama," began the hooded nin, "This is a letter, from your father." He held out a sealed scroll.

Shizuka looked at it blankly for a few minutes, not touching it, then, blinking her eye, watched it erupt in flames. The nin jumped back, dropping the burning scroll. (Oooo... special effects! I don't know how she did it tho... Sorry!)

**_You tell my 'father,' _**she said coldly, **_that if I ever cross paths with him again, I'll cut his heart out with a spoon._**

The Nin bowed nervously, hurrying from the room.

Shizuka went back to looking out the window, while Temari and Kankurou looked at each other.

"Why a spoon?" Kankurou asked, finally. "Why not an ax or--"

**_Because it's _dull_, you idiot, it'll hurt more!_**

Kankurou and Temari looked at each other. "She does have a point," Temari pointed out.

Kankurou shivvered a little and left the room.

Temari looked back at Shizuka, a question to be asked. Shizuka, however, gave her a glare, silencing the normally strong girl instantly.

**Sound village**

"_WHAT?!!_" Orochimaru bellowed, leaning forward in his chair to intensify his intention to shoot the messenger, his bandaged arms twitching madly.

The messenger-nin gulped, backing away several feet. "T-That's what she said, O-Orochimaru-sama!"

"I don't understand!" Orochimaru growled, glaring at the room in general. "She was supposed to be oblivious! No child is going to want to help their parents if she doesn't support them!" (Since when did you become an expert on child pyschology?) Orochimaru whirled on Sakkon, who stood in a corner by himself. "Sakkon! What happened in Konoha?!"

"Anou..." Sakkon thought of several very detailed things he could tell his master about "what happened in Konoha," kisses including. However, as Sakkon was not a complete idiot, he answered, "She ran into some Genins and they told her what happened. Then she blew our cover and we had to come back. I doubt the elders are onto us, though."

Orochimaru, however, was unaffected by this statement, and started tapping his foot, as he couldn't tap his fingers, seeing as the soul had been recently sucked out of them. After a few moments of thought, during which the messenger twitched nervously, Orochimaru turned back to Sakkon. "You go talk to her. She'll see you."

Sakkon bowed and left the room in a puff of smoke.

Kabuto turned to Orochimaru from where he was watching a screen portraying a random scene. "Is it wise, sending him? He tends to be too rough with her, always ordering her about. Not in a controling way, just a reminding way. I don't think she'll act any differently."

Orochimaru shook his head, grinning evilly. "No. You don't understand their relationship. I put them together for a reason, in case something like this happened. Sakkon may act tough, and he does have the worst temper out of the Four, but he acts differently around Shizuka."

"...Huh?" Kabuto developed an uncharacteristically confused face.

"Haven't you noticed how pretty she's gotten, Kabuto?" Orochimaru said with a smirk. "I promise you, he's noticed. He knows the most when it comes to her. They've been friends for too long; she tells him everything... She'll tell him what she thinks of me without feeling suspicious." He chuckled his evil-guy chuckle. "And he'll tell me anyway... for sure."

Kabuto gave Orochimaru a wary, side-ways glance as the older man burst into malicious laughter.

**Sunaga, six hours later**

Shizuka starred at the wall; no one dared come in her room, now that she had been fed for the night. They all probably thought she was pyscho, wanting to kill her own father. (Oh, don't worry, Shizuka! They're used to people wanting to kill their parents!)

_But then, wouldn't killing him make me just like him...? _She turned to look at her reflection in the darkened window. One eye, black and framed with thick, long lashes, looked back at her, a nice, feminine eye. The other, golden and snake-like, framed in dark-natural lines, glared back at her; it was a decision, and her inherited eye was forcing her to make it.

_I wonder... how many other people Orochi-daddy has killed...? _she thought, dreading the answer.

She frowned when she felt a presence behind her (_Dammit, why don't these people knock?! You'd think pyschos lived here!_); it disappeared, however, when she recognized it. **_What brings you here... Sakkon?_**

Sakkon stood in the doorway, his face set. "Shizuka-sama." He bobbed his head.

She turned to look at him. **_Why so serious? It's unlike you._**

"It's unlike you to run away, Shizuka-sama," he said, getting to the point. "You nearly made Tayuya shit herself."

Shizuka shrugged; she would have laughed if she were in a better mood. **_I needed to be by myself for once, and think._**

"Ok, yeah, I get that, you need your space... but why Sunaga?" he asked, as if it were not the best choice. "Don't you know the Sand and the Sound are enemies now?"

**_They treat me alright,_** she said carelessly.

"That's not the point, Shizuka-sama! They might be holding you for ransom for all you know!"

**_Are they? _**she asked airily, turning to look at him, her chin rested in her hand and her elbow on the window sill.

He groaned a little, moving to sit next to her on her window seat. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

**_No, I gotta admit, I don't know. I haven't really been kept up to date on who exactly my 'father' has made his mortal enemy or not,_** she retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasim.

Sakkon sighed. "I guess that's true."

**_Sakkon...?_** Her voice was quieter this time, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah?" He looked down at her black head.

_**Why do so many people have to die?**_

Sakkon sighed unhappily. "You're still stuck on that?"

**_You all lied to me!_** She sat up, glaring at him.

"It was an order!"

_**But you said you loved me! If you did, why would you lie to me, even if it was an order?!**_

Sakkon's cheeks flushed, and he looked away, frowning offendedly. Shizuka continued to glare at him; she felt bad for saying that, but she knew insulting his honor was the only way he would give her a straight answer.

After a few moments, he stood up. "Whatever." He crossed to the door.

**_Hey! You answer me, Sakkon!_** she shouted after him.

"Why should I?" he scoffed, turning to glare at her; she could see, to her immeadiate shock, that his eyes were shiny with tears he didn't dare let fall. "I shouldn't have to listen to you! You're basically giving up Orochimaru-sama, anyway! You're being just like you always were, spoiled and ungrateful! As soon as something doesn't go your way, you get rid of it, or hate it! You don't know anything about Orochimaru-sama! You know even less about me!"

Shizuka jumped up as well, giving him a death-glare that would have made her father proud. **_You don't know what it's like to find out that everyone you know has been lying to you your entire life! Even Kimimaru's lied to me!_**

"What'd you expect?" Sakkon scoffed. "He's always been loyal to Orochimaru-sama, before any of us, even you. He'd walk over hell for Orochimaru-sama, and you expect him to disobey? You always want us to disobey Orochimaru-sama, like you're some kind of infinate goddess that we all have to worship. You don't even care if we get in trouble!"

_**You don't care how I feel! All any of you care about is Orochimaru! And what's he ever done for you, besides give you that curse seal and turn you into his slave? You all are just his tools! He doesn't care about you! He just wants your techniques!**_

"So what if he does? I shouldn't even have to argue with you!" He turned on his heel, his back facing her. "Just you wait. We'll get Sasuke-sama, and Orochimaru-sama will have a new body, and then, he'll make you come back. Just you wait, Shizuka-sama."

Shizuka started to say something, but was cut off as Sakkon stepped into the hall, slamming the door shut as he did.

_Come back..._


	12. SheDemons and Dictionaries

**Apprentice**

NINE reviews for the last chapter! Holy shit! Am I popular, or what?

Kyuubi: You know, if you keep on being stuck up, no one will read your stuff anymore.

Aw shove it. BTW, I noticed something! During the Chuunin exam, when the Third draws out the souls of the First and Second, and their bodies turn to ash, you realize: OROCHIMARU USED ZAKU AND KIN AS BODIES!!

(Censored)

How many people out there think Zaku was at least somewhat cute? I do. Dosu was weird, but Zaku was pretty cute.

BTW, someone emailed me and flamed me for this!

Kyuubi: He's got no balls. He knew Kage would probably hunt him down and yell at him like you tried to do for that guy who flamed her.

Hey, she's my twin! But anyway... He said my plot was "shallow" and that it didn't fit in with the rest of the plot! Uh, hello! IT COULD! You NEVER find out what happens in the Leaf village while Naruto and Jiraiya are gone! The four could have been there! And Orochimaru NEVER says anything about his family! What if he did have a daughter? This is a big 'what if' fic, I get that, but still! That guy was mean!

Kyuubi: Come on, let's eat him! You're dead meat, buddy!

Grumble grumble...

Oh yeah, Jazzy, I updated Genius In Love, in case you didn't already notice...

**_Bold and italics:_** Shizuka speaking

**_(Bold and italics in parantheses)_**: Shukaku

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: She-Demons and Dictionaries**

Shizuka peeked out from under the large sun-hat Temari had lent her. Having decided to explore her temporary new home, Shizuka wasn't taking any chances with the sun and her "delicate skin," as Temari put it.

Actually, Sunaga wasn't so bad. The streets were filled with more people then Shizuka had ever seen in her life: women, children, grown men going to work. Half of them were ninjas. The other half were mainly children in school to be ninjas. It was, in her opinion, an amazing town, full of activity and life, unlike her own home village, which consisted of, to her knowledge, a few scarce Ninja, herself, her father, Kabuto, the Five, and the prisoners. The whole of Sunaga amazed her, right down to the sand beneath her feet.

Well, if you sort of X out the evil glares she received from every townsperson she walked past, Sunaga wasn't half bad.

"Slow down. We have all day."

_Oh yeah.... and the evil minion slave driver who keeps following me!_ Shizuka turned and glared at Gaara, who glared back. **_Tell me again why you're following me?_**

"Because the villagers might attack you for being from the Sound," he answered in his unfeeling montone.

_**Then I'll fight back.**_

"Then you'll get us all in trouble for keeping you here."

**_Then stop being a bitch and just take it. God, there's nothing wrong with a little fuckin punishment._** She turned and kept walking.

_**(She's being annoying. We should kill her.)**_

**_God, make that thing shut up! _**Shizuka snapped, whirling around to face Gaara.

"If you don't like it, don't listen," he said simply, walking past her.

_**I have to focus on your mind to talk, ok, it's not my fault you have a fuckin' voice in your head.**_

"It's the Shu--"

**_I know what it is, ok,_** she snapped, picking up her pace to catch up with him.

_**(I told you she's a bitch. We should kill her. No one talks to us like that. Give her to me!)**_

_**Having a stupid demon thing inside you make you special,**_ she said coldly. **_You can't expect special treatment from everyone. You may have Temari and Cat-Ears whipped, but I'm not afraid of you._**

Shizuka frowned when she came to an abrupt halt, against her will; turning around, she saw Gaara had encased her lower body in sand, slowly moving upward until all but her head was covered. His eyes were pyschopathically wide, jade specks the only sign that he actually could see. His mouth was hanging open, breathing heavily as he slowly walked up to her; they were barely within an inch of each other's height, but he seemed to tower over her.

"I could give you to her," he said in a low hiss, his face an inch away from hers. "She'll cut you open. She wants your blood. Your blood will be nice... so nice and unique..."

Shizuka stuck out her tongue, touching his nose with it. **_Tag. You're it._**

Gaara faltered, startled; the sand slowly melted away from Shizuka to fall into a pile at her feet. Shizuka shook herself slightly, to get back to the feeling of being able to control her own movement, then turned to look at him. He was starring at her with wide eyes.

_**....What?**_

"Why aren't you afraid...?" he asked in a shushed voice, as if afraid she would suck out his soul, or something.

_**Afraid? Please. I lived with a guy who could rip his own bones out of his body and use them as weapons. A stupid frickin' demon isn't really going to scare me.**_

Gaara continued to stare at her, as if this were not comprehendable.

**_You're going to have to do alot more then threaten to kill me then to get me scared, _**she finished, continuing down the street. A few of the villagers stepped out of her way, starring at her, as well.

(Inner-Shizuka: _Damn straight! Fear me_!)

**Later...**

**_Oh, god..._** Shizuka waved a hand in front of her nose to ward off any evil smells. What stinks?

"Kankurou's laundry," Temari answered, though in a very nasal voice, since she had a cloths-line pin on her nose. "He's washing his socks. They stink."

"I do _not _have smelly socks," Kankurou said huffily, walking past with a basket of laundry that was, quite literally, wafting green clouds of stank. "I merely have odor-retentive footwear!"

Temari rolled her eyes and readjusted her cloths-line pin. "Right. It's your day for housework, anyway. Is the living room still messy?"

"Of course not!" Kankurou glared. "It's just passage-restricted!" (H-R: haha! those are my phrases! Teachers hate them. Like I'm not missing my homework, It's an out of notebook experience)

**_Whoa, look who discovered the dictionary!_** Shizuka rolled her eyes hugely, going upstairs. **_I think I'll go ration my consciousness. That means 'sleep,' to those who aren't trying to sound smart. _**She walked away.

Kankurou glared at Gaara. "You have befriended a she-demon."

"Hey, Shukaku needs a girlfriend, too!" Temari cried, feigning offense.

(Shukaku: _I do not!_)

(A/N: The Shukaku speaking in parenthases (Is that spelled right?) isn't the one that Shizuka hears talking to Gaara; it's the idiotic one Kage talks to all the time. Don't mind him unless you want comedy.)

(Shukaku: _I am NOT idiotic! Ooh, look, a cookie! _-pounces on cookie-)

(SNG: I rest my case.)


	13. Atatsuki

**Apprentice**

I got alot of reviews in a very short amount of time for the last chapter so I decided to post this one, too!

H-R doesn't like this chappie.... I dunno why...

SPEAKING OF H-R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Two things:

1. No one commented on Kyu being in her fourth chapter of ThreeAgain. That offended me.

2. No one commented on me writing some of her fifth chapter of Suna's Kekkai Genkai. Grr! That wounds me, people! Go read it! My parts are the good ones!

Kyuubi: You do realize she's in the room with you?

...Shit...

Anyway....

Someone tell me what's wrong with this chapter that she wouldn't like it! I was really excited with it!

Also... Let me know if you actually READ the author notes, so I know if I should keep this up.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Atatsuki**

"Gaara!" Temari called, leaning her head out the door as Shizuka and Gaara headed back to their house. "There's some men to see you!"

"Bad men?" Gaara asked; Shizuka wasn't sre if he ws looking forward to having villians in his house.

"No... They just want to talk to you."

"Ok." _Crap._

**_You are one strange human being,_** Shizuka informed him.

Gaara just gave her a look as they stepped into the shade of the house. Temari led them down the dark hallway to the living room, where two dark-cloaked men were sitting on the sofa, large traveling hats on their knees. One also had a large, bandaged _Samahada_ (Large katana) (H-R: A _Zanbato_! Kenshin refrence in Naruto!!) leaned up against the back of the sofa. Shizuka frowned as her eyes became accustomed to the instant change of light to dark, thus allowing her to better see their features.

"Shizuka-kun," said the one with the _Samahada, _standing up and bowing politely. "It's been quite a long time; I didn't think you'd be here."

Shizuka raised an eyebrow. **_Do I know you...?_**

"Kisame," said the other one, who remained seated. "She doesn't know who you are."

"Oh, right." The guy called Kisame laughed a little; Shizuka's eyebrow irked--his laugh reminded her of Orochimaru's laugh. "Forgive me. You must have been too little. My name is Hoshigaki Kisame. This is Uchiha Itachi."

"Uchiha?" Gaara said before Shizuka could reply.

"You know each other?" Kisame turned to look at his companion. As he turned his head, light was cast over his face, and Shizuka was able to see him. His skin was blue and rough-looking, with spiky blue hair and gills under each eye. The Uchiha, however, was still in the shadows.

_Uchiha..._ **_Sasuke? _**Shizuka frowned, looking at the seated man.

He glanced up at her briefly. "My brother." (A/N: She's never seen Sasuke before)

"I suppose she would know of Sasuke, wouldn't she?" Kisame shrugged, sitting down again when the man called Itachi motioned for him to. "Didn't we just see him?"

Itachi gave a small nod. "Have a seat, Gaara-kun."

"Don't call me Gaara-kun," the red-head said at once, and remained standing. Shizuka, however, sat down.

**_You look weird, _**she said to Kisame. **_Have I met you before?_**

He chose to ignore the comment on his looks. "Itachi-san and I helped develope your voice Jutsus a few years back. They working ok?"

"Voice Jutsus are not the reason we came here, Kisame," Itachi pointed out. He turned to Gaara. "We've been sent to ask you to join our organization. Shizuka-kun may have already heard of it: the Atatsuki."

"Actually, Shizuka-kun was supposed to join, too, since she ran away, but we haven't been able to find her," Kisame pointed out. He grinned at Shizuka. "You sly kid."

_**I've never heard of the Atatsuki before.**_

"Really? Your dad belonged to it a while ago, but he quit, and so did his partner, Kabuto." (A/N: I highly doubt Kabuto was in the Atatsuki in Kishimoto's version of the manga, but he was in this) "That's why we have two openings, for you two."

**_I'm not joining any organization,_** Shizuka said coldly.

"You and Gaara both show signs that you are strong enough to join. Normally, we do not chase after candidates, but in your case, we made an exception before you could join another village." (Wow, I don't think Itachi ever said so much in one mouthful.)

"What do you say?" Kisame asked.

"What sort of organization is it?" Gaara asked.

"Just a simple group of nine Runaway Nins who run around in pairs or fours causing havoc and mayhem at free will," Kisame said casually. "At the moment, we're formulating a pan, but we can't tell you about it unless you join. It's classified."

Gaara glanced at Shizuka; he knew for a fact, after examining her for the four days that she had been awake in Sunaga, that she had an undying curiosity for things that did not concern her. Apparently, these people knew it, too.

Shizuka looked at her knees for a few minutes. Then, she looked up at Itachi and Kisame keenly. **_If I join, there has to be some rules._**

Kisame chuckled a little. "Interesting kid. We're listening."

_**One, Gaara has to be my partner.**_

"Of course, if he joins."

Shizuka glanced at Gaara, who looked back at her blankly. **_He's joining_**.

"Alright then, that's settled. What else?"

_**Two, under no circumstances am I coming into contact with Orochimaru or anyone from the Sound village.**_

Kisame and Itachi looked at each other. "That we can't promise."

_**If I see any of them, I'll kill them on sight.**_

Kisame smirked. "That we can agree to."

**_Three, you guys have to help me figure out a way to get a real voice._** She glared at them for a few minutes.

"What makes you think we can do that?" Kisame asked. Apparently, Itachi wasn't fond of talking unless he had to.

_**You gave me this one, didn't you? And all the other ones I've had. I'm sure you can think of something.**_

The two Atatsuki rookies looked at each other. "Is that all?" Itachi asked, looking almost amused.

_**Yeah, that's pretty much it.**_

Kisame chuckled. For some reason, it didn't remind her of Orochimaru anymore. "You got guts, kid. I like that." He and Itachi stood up. Kisame took his _Samahada. _"We'll be back at nightfall to pick you guys up. Be packed and ready by then." They put on their hats, bowed once and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Gaara and Shizuka looked at each other.

**_Well that was interesting._** Shizuka tossed her sun-hat into a corner, standing up to stretch. **_I wonder if we get some of those cool robes things._**

"Why did you choose me for your partner?"

**_Huh?_** She turned to look at Gaara.

He looked away. "You acted like you hated me. Why would you pick me for your partner?"

**_Why wouldn't I? Besides, it's better then being paired up with some big dick I haven't even met before, right? _**She smirked at him.**_ Believe me, you have a long way to go before I pick you out because I enjoy your company._**

Gaara starred at her for a while as she stretched her arm-muscles.

_Well, it's a start._

**Sundown**

"You're leaving?" Temari asked.

"Way to go, Temari, you just figured that out?" Kankurou rolled his eyes. "He told us three hours ago." To Gaara, he asked, "Coming back any time soon?"

"They didn't say anything about a vacation," Gaara said plainly, putting his worldly possessions in a backpack Kankurou had lent him (it would be placd in his gourd when the time came to travel).

"You're _leaving_?!"

"Ok, well, write us every once and a while to let us know you're alive, ok?"

"Aa..."

"_You're leaving_?!"

"And send me something cool for my birthday, ok?"

"When is it again...?"

Kankurou gave Gaara a look.

"YOU'RE LEAVING?!"

"YES, TEMARI, HE'S LEAVING, OK, GET OVER IT!" Kankurou would have whacked her one if he was able to hit girls.

"Hmph." Gaara allowed his gourd to swallow his backpack and stalked out into the street where Shizuka, Itachi and Kisame were waiting.

"Wow, he left..."

"No, shit?!"


	14. Like You

**Apprentice**

This story has been so much fun to write! The plot is getting thicker and thicker... and I'd like to think my characters are developing...

Kyuubi: They haven't changed.

Shut up. Anyway, my grades have been slipping alot, because now, all I think is....

_What new pairings will be in this fic??????_

I'm still not that sure, even though Keltosh and I had a long, gruesome arguement about it. I have think of several worthy candidates, but the question is, really....

_What the hell will Sakkon do to the guy in question?????_

That's the REAL arguement, whether any of you like it, or not. I know who you all want Shizuka to be paired with, and I know who I want to see her paired up with.

But there is a rather select few that she actually COULD be paired up with, in her current state.

BTW, I'm writing my own manga!

GASP!

Kyuubi: It sucks.

(ignore) It's about this guy named Kyushi Hyo, and he's a fifteen-year-old high school student who can be pretty normal (even if he freaks out alot) and his life was pretty normal (except that he only had one best friend, Ito)... Until his class got some transfer students who just so happened to be half demons! One, Kitsuki, was the daughter of the demon king. The other, Chuimaru, was the descendent of an ancient line of Pyschic demons. They look like humans on the outside... Until Kitsuki sprouts wings and flies away to school in the morning!

...Anyone interested? (My summaries suck... just wait till I finish the first book!)

Ahh, if only I had a scanner!

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Like You**

"Look, it's quite simple," Kisame said, for what seemed like the fifteenth time to Itachi. "We're going to a meeting to properly introduce you to the Atatsuki, and you guys stay here and guard those scrolls." He gestured to a neat pile of scrolls in one corner.

"Why can't we go to the meeting?" Gaara asked, frowning. "It's about us, isn't it?"

"That's exactly why you can't go," Kisame answered. "Look, just sit here. We'll be back with your robes."

**_Finally._** Shizuka rolled her eyes. **_How long have we been around here? What, two weeks? And you're just now getting our robes?_**

"Hey, they were custom-made, ok, feel important!" Kisame glared one last time (well at least they thought he did) and slammed the door in their face.

Gaara and Shizuka looked at each other.

_**So Kisame's the crab, and Itachi's the cold, silent dude who everyone listens to?**_

"Hmm."

Shizuka rolled her eyes. The scary thing was, she actually knew what that kind of "Hmm" meant. It meant "Yeah, but I don't feel like wasting my breath on a useless conversation. It's not like anyone cares which is which anyway."

Shizuka rolled her eyes. Yes, she had fallen very far, indeed. _And how did it all start? _

**Flashback**

**How much farther to we have to walk? **_Shizuka whined, trailing a few paces behind Kisame and Itachi, who were strolling along as if the twenty-mile, non-rest walk they were presentl under-going was no sweat._

_"Until we stop," Kisame answered, thoroughly annoyed by her bickering by now._

_Shizuak grumbled for a while, then turned to glare at Gaara, who was seated upon a puff of sand, leisurely eying them all while he lazed around in mid-air. _**You should let me have a sand-poof.**

_"Hmph." Gaara looked away._

_Shizuka's eyebrow twitched._

_"You guys are going to be working together for the rest of your life," Itachi said coldly. "You're going to have to get along."_

**The rest of our lives?! That wasn't in the job description!**

_"Yeah, well, get used to it." Kisame rolled his eyes._

_Shizuka and Gaara looked at each other._

_"There is no way I'm working with her for my whole life," Gaara said firmly._

_"You don't have a choice. After a while, Atatsuki partners get a sort of... non-gay bond." Kisame changed his words at the last minute to stop raised eyebrows._

_"There's no bond."_

**There's no bond.**

_They looked at each other again._

**Stop doing that!**

**...Doing what**

_They glared at each other._

_"I rest my case." Kisame turned._

**End flashback**

_There had to be a secret Jutsu at work, _she thought angrly. _There is no other possible way I could begin to understand.... Gaara!_

"Sure there is." Gaara yawned a little and sat down on one of the futons, propping up his chin in his hands.

(A/N: In case anyone is wondering, this takes place after the Sand Siblings go over to Konoha to save the day. I know... I goofed a bit. But, you know what? I'm only human.)

Shizuka glared at him. **_Well, no one asked you...! Stop listening to my thoughts!_**

"You listen to mine enough."

_**Not by choice, I assure you. I have to listen in order to communicate. It's not my fault.**_

"How long have you been without a voice?" Gaara asked, after a few moments of silence.

Shizuka gave him a side-ways glance. **_Why do you ask?_**

He looked away, almost huffily.

Shizuka sighed. **_I wasn't able to speak in any way, shape or form until two years ago. My fa... ....There was a Jutsu created that let me speak using someone else's vocal chords, and then the one I use now._**

"Who did--" Gaara was cut off by the sound of glass breaking. Shizuka whirled around.

**Shizuka's P.O.V.**

I honestly didn't mean to kill those three nins. I had only wanted to wound them, to protect the scrolls Itachi had entrusted to us. But as the fire from their torches blazed, illuminating the room, I was wrenched back to that rainy night four years ago. Three men slurred into broken memories and I was losing myself. All I could see was the rain, cold and bitter. Empty faces screaming and in retaliation I reacted.

**Flashback**

_Shizuka sped through the underbrush, trying her hardest to be utterly silent, barely making any noise at all, as consequence, when she grabbed onto a branch above her head and jumped up onto it. She looked around, frowning. She had somehow evaded Sakkon and Kidoumaru, her usual guard, when they had been fighting a few rogue Nins who had tried to attack her. Sakkon had told her to stay put, but, of course, orders were wasted on the orderliless _(Is that a word?).

_Rain pelted down on her face; it was almost impossible to see. She whirled around when she heard a footstep and flung several kunai in that direction; if it were Sakkon or Kidoumaru, they would be able to catch the kunai, even in the blinding rain; she'd tried it before._

_It was not Sakkon or Kidoumaru._

_Shizuka's eyes widened as crimson blood mixed with the rain; the smell was stifling; a flow of someone else's life clouded her mind. She did the only thing she could think to do._

_She ran._

_Ran as far away as she possibly could._

**End flashback**

**Shizuka's P.O.V.**

Their dead bodies lay limply upon the balcony. I had slain them as they'd attempted to flee.

My kunai struck the wooden ground of the balcony, standing up proudly, crimson ribbons streaking down the gleaming metal. I fell to my knees, my clothes instantly soaking up red rain.

Thick brooks of viscous blood twisted over the wooden planks of the floor, diluting with the icy rain. Eyes stunned open, blood so bright. Water gushed down my face, pooling into the dark material of my dress. My hand shook as I clutched my unused kunai.

_What have you done, Shizuka?   
_   
I knew I was smiling and it felt so wrong.

**End Shizuka's P.O.V.**

Gaara glanced at Shizuka where she had collapsed in the middle of the floor, starring at the kunai in her hand. He hadn't even gotten up from where he was seated before she had slain all three of the nins who had tied to steal the scrolls. Her reflexes were even quicker then his, but that was to be expected. Those who didn't have the armour of Sand to protect them often worked harder on their speed and agility. He was always the first to admit his reflexes sucked.

Never out loud, though, of course.

Out loud, Kankurou's reflexes sucked the most.

Gaara sighed and looked around, as if hoping Kisame or Itachi or some other earthly being would pop out of no where and relieve him of the responsibility he knew was before him. When no one came, he sighed inaudibly and got up, crossing the room to the crumpled girl. "That wasn't the first time you've killed, was it?"

She shook her head silently.

"Then what's the big deal?"

She opened and closed her mouth, after realizing it was useless, then answered, in a tiny voice in the back of his mind, **_I didn't mean to kill them the last time... They were supposed to catch the kunai..._**

Gaara looked around confusedly then looked back at her. "And your point is...?"

She gulped and curled her knees up to her chest, holding them there with her arms; he noticed she didn't let go of the kunai. **_I don't want to be like him..._**

Gaara starred at her, but was unable to question this statement further, as Kisame and Itachi chose _that_ time to enter.

"Damn, you guys were serious, weren't you?" Kisame looked at the three dead Nins. "Gaara, did you do this, then?"

Gaara shook his head, pointing to Shizuka. "It was her."

Kisame raised an eyebrow, taking in the bloody kunai she still clutched.

Itachi didn't even bat an eyebrow, going over to Shizuka and draping a smaller version of the black cloak he himself wore around her shoulders rather unceremoniously. She glanced up at him and he nodded his head at the door. "Come on. They'll clean up."

"What are we, your lackies?!" Kisame snapped as Itachi led Shizuka (who was climbing into her cloak) out the door.

**_But of course._** Shizuka winked at them.

Kisame and Gaara looked at each other for a while.

Several moments of silence passed.

_This is gonna be really hard,_ Kisame thought as Gaara continued to look at him, not even blinking.

**Meanwhile, outside...**

**_I thought Gaara was my partner,_** Shizuka said, tagging after Itachi.

"Hnn."

_**Then why am I with you?**_

"Training."

**_Training?! _**Shizuka stopped dead. **_I've had enough training! I'm good enough as I am, thanks!_**

"Can you beat him?"

_**....Huh?**_

Itachi turned to look at her; his expression ws strange, she noticed, more one of pain and sorrow then of anger or dislike. "Can you beat Orochimaru?"

Shizuka looked away, glaring at the wall. **_Mind your own business!_**

Itachi didn't comment on her order; instead, he kept walking. "I'm stronger then him; that's why he quit the Atatsuki. I'll be training you for the next few weeks."

**_Why? _**She frowned at him supiciously. From what she had seen, Uchiha Itachi wasn't one to suffer girls, let alone train them.

He glanced at her again. "You're the first to stand up to Kisame after myself. Most people are intimidated by his height and facial expressions. Also, your speed, stamina, reflexes and chakra manipulation have much to be said for." He turned away again. "As of now, you are my student."

She glared. **_What, and I don't have any say in this?_**

He turned, yet again, Sharingan flashing. "No, you do not."

She shrugged. **_Hmm, ok._** She turned on her heel and walked back the way they had come.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She stopped and glared over her shoulder at him. **_To get some sleep. I'm not an insomniac like Gaara. If you want to teach me, I have to be fully awake._** Turning away again, she started walking again.**_ Peace, _**she called over her shoulder.

Itachi couldnt help but smirk a little as he watched her walk away. _Interesting kid._

**The next day**

Shizuka puffed for breath, clinging to her kunai like her life depended on it. Itachi stood before her, very calm and collected, waiting for her next strike. Gaara and Kisame watched from the side-lines. Kisame was supposed to be teaching Gaara a few new ninjutsus, but, more out of down-right creeped-out-ness rather then dislike, Kisame had dropped it after the first day.

"Again," Itachi ordered.

Shizuka made another rush at him, focusing chakra to her feet ad hands until she moved almost invisibly, her speed was so great. But, once again, he caught her by her cloak and threw her back. She grunted as she hit the ground; by now, she was too tired to even catch herself.

Itachi scoffed a little. "Do you want to stop here for today? There's no use in continuing if you're not going to be serious about it."

Shizuka glared at him, moving to stand on all fours. **_If I could use my curse seal, this wouldn't be a problem... That's what it's there for._**

"That's why we're practicing this. You can depend on that curse seal for everything." Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Come again."

She shook her head. **_Let's rest..._**

Itachi's eyes narrowed even further. "I decided to train you because you had gifts. I thought you had stamina, and endurance. I didn't think a little work-out would tire you out."

Shizuka flinched a little at the insults, gripping the grass under her hands as her blood began to boil.

"Apparently, I was wrong." Itachi turned away. "Hmph. My first apprentice, and she turns out to be a disappointment."

_**SHUT UP!**_

Itachi turned in time to feel a kunai gliding across his skin, letting soft, crimson ribbons trickle from the cut the blade created on his shoulder.

Shizuka smirked, drawing her kunai back; the look on Itachi's face was priceless. **_Shizuka reporting fit for training._**


	15. Stairway To Heaven

**Apprentice**

OH MY GAWD! I HIT OVER 100 REVIEWS!!!

I beat H-R, whoot whoot. (happy dance) (H-R: -.-" We were competing?" Shukaku:** I do remember something like that...** (H-R has the memory of a gold fish) H-R: I never said anything about competing with apprentice...)

But, seriously guys, thank you. All of your reviews have been nice, well-meant, and encouraging. If I sound cheesy, it's because I just finished this chapter and I'm feeling dramatic. You'll see why soon. (P.S.: This is my longest chapter yet. Be happy. It took me three hours to write!)

Just a quick note, guys... My school sucks like a kitten on crack, so for now, I'm going to be studying and working my ass off so that next year when I'm 16, I can take the G.E.D. and get out of there and go to college.

Yes, that is legal and possible.

My classes suck balls, and I'm quitting one of them and moving a level lower, and so, for now until, like.... whenever my grades pull up and I can do all my work alright, I won't be able to work as hard on my fics. I will certainly work on them in my free time and on weekends though! It just might take longer for me to get chapters out... so please, bare with me.

Wish me luck!

P.S.: I didn't get a part in the play at all. H-R got a part but only because she's a senior. NOT THAT HER AUDITION DIDN'T ROCK THEY SOCKS!

Anyway, in honor of this 100-review occasion, there's a new, fancy format for these chapters that I will try to put in all my chapters from now on, in all my fics! I hope you enjoy it!

Key:

**(Time difference)**

_**Shizuka speaking**_

**Lyrics, flashback announcements**

**-Music cues-**

_Thoughts, flashback_

"Itachi speaking"

If possible, listen to designated sections to Led Zepplin's Stairway to Heaven.

**Chapter Twelve: Stairway to Heaven**

**-Cue Stairway to Heaven-**

Shizuka walked slowly under the trees, limping slightly; her 'work-out' with Itachi had left her both sore and tired, but she wanted to take a walk just the same. The sun trickled through the gaps in the leaves, lighting her path.

**There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold   
And she's buying a stairway to heaven. **

Memories raced across her mind's eye, causing her to stop and close her eyes; to better see them or to block them out, she wasn't sure.

**Flashback**

_"Shizuka-sama! Don't go too far ahead!"_

_Shizuka turned and pulled her eyelid down at Sakkon and continued running._

_Sakkon felt a temper vein in his forehead twitch, but he quickly repressed it._

_"Ok, fine, I'm coming to get you, then!" He started walking faster._

_Shizuka turned, and, realizing he was serious, started running faster._

_Sakkon shrugged and started power-walking, humming to himself as he did. He didn't mind a quick work-out._

_Shizuka, hearing him pitter-pattering behind her, ran even faster, and soon found herself flying down the path. Sakkon frowned and started running._

_The speed was unbearable. Her legs felt like they were about to give out, but for some reason, she couldn't stop running. Her body told her to, but her mind refused. Finally, she over-willed them both and allowed herself to collapse in the dense grass._

_She felt soft arms under her, catching her before she could hit the ground. Her eyes fluttered open; Sakkon smiled down at her, picking her up. _

_"That was very good, Shizuka-sama," he said, going back the way they had come, back home. "Just you wait. You're going to be one of the greatest ninja ever."_

**End flashback**

_'...one of the greatest ninja ever.'_

_'...greatest ninja ever.'_

_'...the greatest...'_

**When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed   
With a word she can get what she came for. **

Shizuka heard herself sniff slightly. _I always wanted to believe that.... I always held onto what he told me... I wanted to believe that I could be the best, and live up to everyone's expectations...._

**   
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven. **

_And what do I have to show for it...? I'm a selfish, greedy, spoiled, proud brat with no special skills... Because I always thought I would just automatically become like Orochimaru and the others._

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure   
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.

She clamped her hands over her ears as more words flooded her brain.

**Flashback**

_Shizuka peeked into Orochimaru's laboratory, clutching a child's picture-book to her chest. As usual, he was working. On what, she had no idea nor concern._

_"Unh..." The only sound she could make to announce her presence._

_Orochimaru turned at once, looking ready to shout at the intruder, but his face softened when he saw her. It always did. "What is it, Shizuka-kun?"_

_"Mm..." She held out the picture book._

The Rainbow Zebra_?" he read the title._ (1) _"Aren't you too old to want to read books like that?"_

_She looked away, disappointed._

_Orochimaru's face softened again. "Come on. Up on the chair." He sat down in his large wooden chair and patted his lap._

_She smiled and leaped up onto his lap, giving him the book._

_Orochimaru cleared his throat dramatically and adjusted invisible bifocals. "_Once upon a time, there lived in a jungle a zebra with rainbow-colored streaks...

_**At the last page...**_

...And when the other zebra and animals saw how special the rainbow zebra was, they began to like him again, and soon, he had more friends then anyone in the whole forest. The end._" Orochimaru closed the book and handed it back to her. "I forget how much you like that story. Why, exactly?"_

_She thought for a moment, then opened the book to the second page, which showed the Rainbow Zebra being shunned and ignored by his fellows. She pointed to the zebra, then to herself._

_"You think you're like that zebra...?"_

_She nodded._

_"People don't shun you!"_

_She gave him a look, and pointed to her unnatural yellow eye._

_He sighed, thinking. "I remember how this goes. But don't worry. Soon, they'll all be under you. They'll recognize your strength one day."_

**End flashback**

_'...They'll all be under you...'_

_'...Recognize your strength...'_

_'....Under you....'_

**   
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings,   
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven. **

_I wonder how many people he had to kill before people recognized him....?_

Ooh, it makes me wonder,   
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

She closed her eyes; more against the pain in her leg then the memories; she'd been walking on it too long. Turning, she took a seat in the crook of the roofs of a large _Sakura_ tree. _I'll just rest a minute, then keep going..._ She adjusted her Atatsuki robes comfortably; she paused for a moment, looking down at one of the red clouds.

_I wonder what they'd say if they could see me now..._

**   
There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,   
And my spirit is crying for leaving. **

She choked slightly as she envisioned, slowly, one of their faces, one by one: Kidoumaru's repressed sneer, Tayuya's frown, Jiroubou's desperate look as he tried to bring peace, Kabuto's tender smile, Orochimaru's look of pride...

Sakkon's face, filled with love....

Love she had never noticed...

**   
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,   
And the voices of those who stand looking. **

She choked again, trying her hardest to repress the tears she knew were coming. _Why...? Why couldn't you all just tell me the truth...? I wouldn't have minded if you'd just told me!_

**   
Ooh, it makes me wonder,   
Ooh, it really makes me wonder. **

"I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know where you're going. I am responsible for you, after all."

Shizuka whirled around. Itachi gazed down at her from his perch in the tree branch above her head. "What are you thinking about?"

She looked away. **_I needed time alone._**

"Why?"

**_This place reminds me.... of home._**

**And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune   
Then the piper will lead us to reason. **

Itachi thought for a moment, then jumped down next to her, sitting down in the crook of the roots next to hers. "Can I tell you something?"

"This place reminds me of my home, too.... in Konoha." Itachi closed his eyes, letting himself remember. "My brother and I used to come here to train all the time."

**   
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long   
And the forests will echo with laughter. **

"Actually, no.... I trained and he watched and then he goofed up." Itachi repressed a smile.

Shizuka looked down at herself; the fishnet under-dress of her Atatuki uniform allowed her to see a corner of the scar she'd gotten two years ago, in the cave in the Sound village. **_We used to go train in the caves above the head quarters._**

"That must have been.... interesting."

**Flashback**

_Shizuka looked down at herself. She had managed to block one of the kunai, but the other had slashed across her chest, cutting her shirt, briefly exposing a band of pale flesh before bleed seeped up. Her eyes snapped back up to meet his._

**End flashback **

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,   
It's just a spring clean for the May queen.

_**Oh, believe me, it was....**_

Itachi heard himself chuckle, a strange thingf ro him, he noticed suddenly, as he had not laughed or smiled in a long, long time.

**Flashback**

_"Itachi!"_

_Four-year-old Itachi pushed his way through the crowd, trying to find the source of the voice._

_"Itachi!"_

_Itachi kicked one man in the shins, causing him to move out of the way, and jumped up into his father's arms._

_"There you are, Itachi. You almost missed the parade!" His father set him on his shoulders so he could see better._

_Itachi cupped his hands under his father's chin for support, watching the new assembly of Jounin and ANBU filing by sollemnly. Their brand-new masks and flak jackets captivated him in ways he didn't understand._

_His father, seeing this, smiling._

_"Some day," Itachi said sollemnly, "I'll be walking down this street, with my ANBU mask and uniform."_

_His father smiled warmly. "And I'll be watching you, and I'll be very proud that you are my son."_

_Itachi looked down at his father. "Really?"_

_His father nodded. "Just be sure and work hard."_

_Itachi nodded eagerly. "Don't worry! I learn everything I can! I work all night, every night, and be the best I can be!"_

_His father nodded again. "You're my son. Be sure you don't disappoint me."_

**End flashback**

**   
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run   
There's still time to change the road you're on. **

Itachi looked down at his hands; they were so calloused from all the times he'd trained beyond his physical limits, that he couldn't even feel his original skin texture anymore. All over his body, there were scars and callouses: tokens of his passion for Ninjutsu.

**And it makes me wonder. **

"I didn't want to disappoint him..."

Huh? Shizuka turned to look at him, confused.

"My father." Itachi continued to stare at his hands. "I worked hard, and trained all day, every day, so I would make him proud to see me as an ANBU..."

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,   
The piper's calling you to join him

Shizuka starred at him, confused. _Why is he telling me this...?_

"I didn't do anything but Ninjutsu... I didn't have time for friends or girls... I didn't have any friends at all growing up..." Itachi closed his eyes. _I wonder what would have happened... if I hadn't taken Father's words to heart..._

Shizuka's eyes widened; she'd heard his thoughts, of course... and it confused her to no end.

**   
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know **

**_Um..._** She shifted uncomfortably, her own trials and tribulations forgotten; in the three weeks she had known Itachi, she had never seen him so...

Vulnerable.

Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

_How could _you _never have time for girls?_ she asked, trying to sound melancholy.

He turned to look at her. The look meant confusion.

**_Well... I mean, didn't they try and come after you...? _**She wondered exactly what the hell she was saying.

He shook his head.

Her jaw dropped. **_Are you serious?!_**

He nodded.

_**Well... I think they should have....**_

**And as we wind on down the road   
Our shadows taller than our soul. **

Itachi continued to look at her. Confusion.

**_W-well... _**She laughed nervously. **_You're not that bad looking, are you...? I mean... _**(_NOT THAT BAD_!?!?!) **_D-didn't anyone ever tell you that before...?_**

**There walks a lady we all know   
Who shines white light and wants to show   
**

Itachi continued to stare at her resolutely. "No one ever said that."

**_Um... Oh... H-have you ever been kissed...? _**(What's with the Hinata-stutter all of a sudden?????)

He shook his head.

Shizuka starred at him, her mouth open in shock. He was older then her by about four years, he wasn't really that ugly, even if the lines on his face made him look mature past his years, he had that 'guy-who-looks-like-a-girl' face, and was the exact image of 'tall dark and silent'! _How could he never have been kissed?!_

"Have you?"

Huh? She shook herself out of her thoughts.

"Have you ever been kissed?"

Uh...

**How everything still turns to gold.   
**

**Flashback**

_Sakkon chuckled, bringing her face closer to his with a slender hand, pressing his lips against hers. They sat like that for a moment or so, until Sakkon mumbled against her mouth, "You taste like strawberries."_

_**My toothpaste.**_

_"Oh." He moved his lips on hers, deepening the kiss ever so slightly, trying to remember every single book he had ever read about kissing. After a few minutes, he pulled away. _

**End flashback**

_**O-once or twice...**_ She scratched her head embarrassedly; she could feel her face growing hot. _What the hell is wrong with me!?_

**And if you listen very hard **

"I see."

Shizuka opened her eyes wide; she hadn't even seen him move in front of her, but there he was, his face barely six inches away from hers.

_Wow... I've never seen him this close before! _

_H-he's... gorgeous!_

The tune will come to you at last.

Slowly, she saw his face come closer to hers, and found she couldn't, or wouldn't, stop him. She was mesmerized by his Sharingan-red eyes, his entire face captivated her.

**When all are one and one is all   
**

He was three inches away.... two inches.... one inch... and still, she couldn't find words to stop him. Did she even want to?

**To be a rock and not to roll.   
**

His lips were brushing slowly across hers; she could feel his cool breath on her cheek; his hands were at her shoulders... then her neck... then they cupped her face, bringing her closer to him. To her own surprise, she felt her arms go around his neck as she unconsciously deepened the kiss.

**   
And she's buying a stairway to heaven...**

**End Stairway to Heaven**

(1) _The Rainbow Zebra:_ Not actually a book. This idea was based on some curtains I had as a kid. (H-R: (sly grin) oo..memories! Lets see...she had the curtains, and the sheets and mom made a dress to match it...(h-R continues and fades off she is also proud of her self, she made Shukaku laugh) Shukaku stops laughing:** I wasn't laughing...ahem...**) They showed a zebra with, guess who, rainbow stripes, and all the other animals didn't like him because he was different (H-R: but they were weird colors like there was a purple innocent woodland creature and such). It may sound angsty, and it sort of was, but the currents matched my carpet so that's why I had them.


	16. In Dreams

**Apprentice**

**Chapter Fifteen: In Dreams**

**Shizuka's P.O.V. (present tense)**

I thought Sakkon taught me all I needed to know about kissing... He told me he loved me and I believed him.

I even thought I started to like him back.

But there was the one issue that he lied to me my whole life.

It was a stupid thing... I knew it would never work out. I'm not even sure I wanted it to. I always wanted to explore my options first.

Well, now that I have, I don't really want to go back.

Sakkon never made me _feel_ like Itachi does. I don't believe him when he says he hasn't kissed anyone but me. He really knows what he's doing. He doesn't act the same around me as he does other people. He doesn't talk much, but his actions do just as well.

He says he isn't sure about me.

What's _that_ supposed to mean?

I'm fairly sure about _him_!

...I think...

I'll give him this... he's sort of awkward when he kisses me. It's like he's either waiting for me to respond, or wondering what to do next. We should try and figure out kissing soon.

Kisame seems to be getting suspicious because I don't yell at Itachi anymore. How can I? All he has to do is look at me for a few minutes and I can't feel my legs.

Whenever he's around me, he lets up his Sharingan. He says he's more comfortable like this, and only does it with people he really trusts.

So, despite all their talk about team-work, he and Kisame don't trust each other?

I feel special.

I can't figure it out, but Gaara's making me nervous. I still sleep in the same room with him (all that partner nonsense...) and whenever I come in late from Itachi, Gaara gives me these looks like he knows what's going on.

...What _is_ going on? And why should I be afraid to tell anyone?

Itachi's here. He wants to 'see me.'

I know what that means.

We're walking down the woody trail we first kissed on. I can feel his hand constantly brushing up against mine, like he's not sure if he should take it or not. I can't help but smile a little. What is it with men and their reputations? I take his hand for him; it's soft, but calloused... really confusing, but sort of nice. He stops for a second, then gives my hand a small squeeze.

That's what he wanted.

**Itachi's P.O.V. (whatever tense you want..)**

I can't figure out what's wrong with me. This girl is _four years _young then me, the _daughter_ of my supposed "rival" and can be a real pain in the _ass_. She's called me "butthead" (???) more then once, and seems to think that kicking me is righteous punishment for my having her train with me every day.

Oh, and, the other day, she somehow got myself, Kisame and Gaara all involved in a game she liked to call "Shuriball." It was a bizarre game born out of the deep confines of her subconscious malice. It was a cross between shurinken-toss and baseball. One person threw the shurinken, and the other hit it with a bat. We played on two-man (girl) teams.

Of course, we didn't get very far.

Then, today, she got us to play "Stimulated Natural Life" with her. A.K.A.: Gaara somehow got dressed up as a baby, Kisame dressed up as a dad (he seemed to enjoy it), she dressed up as a mom, and I was some punk who the mom got to beat up.

So, I have only one question, as I am walking down a dark path, hand-in-hand with this girl:

Why am I walking down a dark path, hand-in-hand with this girl?

Oh, yes. I remember.

Because every time I see her, I can't take my eyes off her because all I want to do is grab her and kiss her!

God, when did I become such a pervert??

.....What, no answer?

She looks best in moonlight, I noticed. Her skin isn't as white as Orochimaru's, but the moonlight illuminates it so much that she does (although I'd never tell her this to her face; she'd probably rip my nuts out). She looks so... interesting... then, that I sometimes forget what she's done to me that day.

Sometimes.

"Shuriball" may be unforgettable.

She wants to sit, so I go with her to sit by a tree, on the ground. It's not so bad. She sits between my legs/on my lap and rests her head on my shoulder with her eyes closed. She looks comfortable, but she also looks like she'd fall at any second, so I put my arm around her shoulder and pull her closer.

For some reason, she isn't talking. I look down to see if she's starring up at me again, waiting for me to kiss her, but she's fallen asleep.

Well, that's alot of manly responsibility to be grasped all at once.

....I can't feel myself anymore.

It's like my nerves have shut down, looking at her.

What the hell is wrong with me?!

First, she gives me crap about being related to Sasuke on the journey from Sunaga, then she goes coop-eyes about killing a few people, then she's a bitch at training, then she forces us to play HOUSE, then she invents Shuriball (I was right, it's unforgivable), and there's always the short abuse she gives me!

I've never cared before... so why do I care now?

**End Character P.O.V. (It's hard to write!)**

Shizuka stirred slightly; she could hear someone's heartbeat next to her ears, but wasn't sure where it was coming from. Last time she checked, she had been walking with Itachi. Opening her eyes, she saw that Itachi was, indeed, walking with her.

However, he was doing the walking... and the carrying, apparently.

_**Did I go to sleep again..?**_

"Yes. Am I really that boring?"

**_N-no..._** She looked around. He was carrying her (bride-style) back the way they'd come. **_H-Hey!_**

"What now?"

_**I don't want to go back yet!**_

"...You're tired."

_**So, I can rest a bit and we can keep walking!**_

He frowned at her. "No."

_**Please?**_

"No."

She turned her puppy-face on.**_ Please?_**

He looked away. "No."

_Well..._

_That's..._

_No..._

_FUN!_

She sat up a little in his arms (good thing he had a good grip on her) and turned his face to hers. **_Itachi-kun.... please?_**

He looked at her for a long time with narrowed eyes, then set her down. "Call me 'Itachi-kun' again and I will mangle you."

**_Awww! _**She jumped up and clamped her arms around his neck playfully. **_Why not? It's so cute!_**

"You know... the Shizuka I knew before kissing didn't go for things that were 'cute.'"

_**That was before I saw something really cute up close and got to kiss it!**_

".........Better not be _me_..."

**_It is! _**She leaned over and pecked his cheek.

"Neh... I liked it better when you were serious. Less headaches." But, for some reason, he couldn't get mad at her... if it'd been Sasuke, he'd be dead. Dead and buried. Dead and buried and three-week-old worm doo-doo. But, for Shizuka... he wasn't even remotely annoyed. He just pretended to be because she said it made him "interesting."

He sat down at a tree again and waited for her to follow; carrying her had it's limits. She knelt down in front of him and stroked his hair gently. He rubbed his cheek into her hand and pulled her closer. He kissed her deeply, and felt her relax against him almost instantly, like she always did. He put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her even closer. He liked knowing that only he could make her act like this; she was a total stuck-up bitch to Gaara and Kisame. He let up his Sharingen while his eyes were still closed, so that when they both opened their eyes, she could see his normal, black/grey eyes. He felt her hands go around his head and frowned slightly, then realized she was taking his forehead-protector off again.

"You need to put that back before we go back."

She shrugged and put it to the side, sitting up to kiss his forehead. His eyes were almost level with her shoulders, causing him to notice a small mark on her collar bone.

"What's this?" He touched it with a finger. _Looks like a bite-mark... I didn't do that..._

**_Erm...! _**Shizuka looked at where he was gesturing.

**Flashback**

_Shizuka yawned and rolled over on her side; she'd taken to sleeping in Sakkon's room since 'that Night,' and could feel him next to her, his arm subconsciously around her waist. It felt sort of nice..._

_She gave a small yelp when she felt something sharp on her shoulder. Her head whipped around. _**Sakkon! You kinky bastard! Did you just BITE me?!**

_He gave her a grin. "What can I say? Your neck looked surprisingly tasty."_

_Shizuka clamped a hand over the mark she knew would come. That was... kind of weird._

**End flashback**

_It's still there?! _Shizuka snapped out of memory-lane when she felt Itachi still starring at her. **_Um... squirrel bit me._**

"....Squirrel."

_**...Yep.**_

"Squirrel."

_**Yes!**_

"Well, you tell this 'squirrel' that if he comes near you again, I'll kill him." Itachi caught his breath quickly. "I didn't mean--"

**_That's ok... it sounds nice coming from you, in this case._** She gave him a small smile, leaning forward to kiss him again.

Itachi closed his eyes again; he knew she was sensitive when people made death-threats, since the thing with her father, and had tried his best not to give them out around her, but damn it was hard!

He felt her open up his Atatsuki robe, and almost protested, until he felt her move to sit with her back against his chest and button herself up with him. (Strangely enough, his robe was big enough). He smiled shamelessly, since she couldn't see, and slipped his arms out of his sleeves, putting them around her waist. She felt small and frail (even though she wasn't) when she was this close; he felt an uncontrollable urge to protect her forever, and make sure no "squirrels" came near her anymore.

**_You're warm,_** she said softly.

"It's body heat."

Shizuka's eyes widened as the words processed in her mind... though they were spoken with another voice.

**Flashback**

_"You can sleep in here, but it's not that cold," he pointed out, looking at her arm._

_**You've been here before, so you're used to it, **she pointed out, crawling over to the head of the bed and snuggling down under the covers. **Your bed's warmer then mine...**_

_"It's called 'body heat,' have you heard of it?" He rolled his eyes and lifted the corner of the blankets to crawl in himself._

_**Put that down, you're letting in cold air!**_

_"Sorry, sorry..." He slid under the bed, plumped up his pillows and laid down, closing his eyes._

_**Sakkon...?**_

_"What?"_

_**You're warm...** He felt her snuggle up to him._

_"...Go to sleep."_

**End flashback**

_Why would I think about _that_ now?_ Shizuka looked at a spot on the ground before her. _That's gone. Besides, Sakkon isn't like Itachi... Sakkon was my... my big brother! He was my... my..._

_First kiss, _a small voice in the back of her head pointed out.

_...That doesn't count! He was just showing me...!_

_Ugh... I have to get these memories out of my head!_

**_Can we just sleep out here? _**she asked, leaning her head back so it was on his shoulder. **_It's so nice out..._**

"You'd get sick. It'll be cold later."

_**But you could keep me warm! With your fire thing!**_

He sighed. She could never remember his Jutsu names; it was a real stab to his ego. "It's called a--"

_**Whatever, just make a fire!**_

"....You are one weird kid, you know that?"

**_Didn't think I was a kid when you were _kissing _me, did you??_**

"...."

She smiled and nestled in against him, getting comfortable. **_Good-night, cutie._**

"...Don't call me 'cute'."

**(The next morning)**

Shizuka woke up to the soft feel of her sheets. She frowned, her eyes still closed. That wasn't what she remembered... The woods didn't have sheets, did they? Opening her eyes to see what the hell was up, she stifled a gasp.

Itachi's face was barely a foot away from hers, his breath tickling her face as he slept peacefully. One of his arms were rested on the curve of her hip, while the other acted as a sort of pillow for her.

_Oh god... we didn't... Did we...? _She thought back to last night. No, there was no sexual contact that she recalled... unless he did something while she was _asleep_...

Possible images flashed through her mind.

_BLUSH!_

Her sudden stir awoke Itachi, and his eyes fluttered open. "Hello."

_**What are you doing in my room?**_

"......Kisame locked me out."

_**Bullshit.**_

"It's true."

_**Where's Gaara?**_

"Locked him out."

_You know what, I believe him._ She looked around. **_Where's my clothes?_**

"You're wearing them." He looked at her for a few minutes. "I'm not like that."

**_Well, how'm I supposed to know that?_** She glared at him.

He shrugged a little, leaning over to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he shifted so he was lying on top of her, his hands under her shoulders to support himself so he wasn't crushing her. They'd been like this before, but Shizuka never ceased to enjoy it. The first time, she'd pushed him off at once, thinking he was trying to force himself, but of course he wasn't (she hoped/wished). But now, she liked the feel of his body against hers, in any predicament. It stirred something warm that she didn't understand, but really liked.

After a few minutes, she realized she couldn't breathe, but when she voiced this concern to him, he just kissed her again and said, very softly, "Then don't." His hair covered her face; sometime during the night, it had come out of it's ponytail holder. It was almost as long as hers, and felt like silk. She wanted to smell it, but he wouldn't let her turn her head away from his, so, instead, she took some of it in one hand and smelled it, while still kissing him. Noticing this, he smirked, and put his hand in hers, entwining their fingers. His other hand worked her own ponytail, setting her hair free.

The Atatsuki uniforms they wore were sleeveless, exposing his softly-muscled arms to her. (A/N: I don't know if anyone noticed, but this is kind of true. If you look in chapter 147, pages 12, 13 and 14, you notice that Itachi's shirt under his robe either has short sleeves, or no sleeves when he is beating up Sasuke -WOOT WOOT- so I decided he has no sleeves.) She ran her free hand down the curve of his shoulder and arm; even here, he had callouses and small scars from his childhood training. Not even Sakkon had that many scars (note that she gave Sakkon all the scars he had). He'd trained that hard, just to impress his father? _What an asshole the guy must've been._

Shizuka snapped back to present time when she felt Itachi's hand under her shirt, on her stomach. She broke the kiss and cried, **_What're you doing?!_**

"..." He looked uncomfortable and awkward again. "Eh..."

She continued to glare at him.

"Well... You were... touching me, so I thought...." He looked away, withdrawing the hand.

She felt a little pang of guilt at the look of guilt _he_ had, and sat up a little to kiss his neck. **_We should talk about this soon..._**

"Yeah..."

**_But not now._** She laid back down again, pulled him down with her. **_You can keep doing it... I was just surprised, that's all._**

He smirked, slipping his hand under her shirt again. "You confused the hell out of me, you know that."

**_I try my best._** She smiled as he started kissing her neck, and tugged on his shirt, pulling it up over his back and slipping her hands in. She felt his back muscles tense under her touch. She moved so he was under her, and pushed him till he was lying on his stomach.

"What're you..."

**_Shush._** She tugged his shirt over his head and sat on his legs, massaging his back.

**Itachi's P.O.V.**

Her hands were cold, even though I'd been holding them just a minute ago, but strangely soothing. They worked out the knots in my back so gently, you'd never know she could be so violent like she was. I liked the feeling, but at the same time, I was a little nervous. (A/N: HOLD THE PRESS!) I'd never classed myself under the "well-built" category of the male species, and hadn't even considered myself to be something females would want. So, it was kind of nerve-wracking, having myself so quickly exposed to her. It's been so long since I've looked in a mirror, I haven't been checking to see if my shoulders have broadened, or my chest deepened. Next to Kisame, who has both these traits, I know I must look unnaturally small, even if he does look unnaturally like a shark.

I've never been this self-conscious before.

I wonder if she likes what she sees...

**End Itachi's P.O.V.**

**(Later...)**

Shizuka frowned when someone knocked loudly and rudely on her/Gaara's door. She glanced over at Itachi, who'd fallen asleep again (and looked so damn hot while he was!), and pulled the covers over his head to hide him, then went to open the door (and give a swift kick to whoever's balls had disturbed them).

Gaara glared at her, their eyes level. "Can I come in yet?"

_**Uh....**_

**Flashback**

_Where's Gaara?_

_"Locked him out."_

**End flashback**

**_Can um... Can you just chill out here for a little bit more? _**She gave him a weak grin.

He glared at her again and closed the door in his own face.

She sighed. _What's with the secrets all of a sudden...?_

**(Later that night)**

Shizuka woke up quite suddenly, stirred from her sleep by a cold breeze coming from her window. She went to close it, and, looking up, noticed a sticky-note stuck to her forehead. She peeled it off and looked at it.

_Shizuka--_

_Had to go on a mission with Kisame. Didn't want to wake you up._

_Be back in a week or so._

_--Itachi._

She grinned a little and crumbled the note. Whether the great Uchiha Itachi wanted to acknowledge it, or not... He was getting soft.

Going into hers and Gaara's bathroom to wash her face, she noticed something around her neck, and, turning on the light, saw he'd written something on the skin just below her collarbone, as well.

_S--_

_In case you didn't believe me, I'm coming back for this._

_--I._

_P.S.: Don't lose it._

She smirked. It was his necklace. _What a man, _she thought, washing the writing off.


	17. Only For You

**Apprentice **

I've discovered that I like writing in centered. I don't know why. I've been putting more P.O.V.s in, just so I can write like that. It's just that stuff looks better like that. Lyrics look cool that way, if you noticed. So, sorry, if I use too much centered! It's just fun!

I updated nice and fast, though. I've made up a sceduale for myself: Update every two days and just do what I got. Right now, I'm working on chapter 17. I want at least 10 reviews for this, though, ok? I think you will find it enjoyable...

I'm beginning to think I'm rushing things too quickly with Itachi and Shizuka... but I just can't help myself! I try and make my O.C.s like myself, so I don't have to go out of my way to make a completely different personality, and, to be honest, if I had a guy like Itachi at my finger tips, I'd go for it and pin him down as soon as possible, so that's basically what Shizuka is doing.

You can tell alot of how much of a maniac I am by how crazy my O.C.s are.

General Population: O.O

...BTW, Shizuka pix in Atatsuki robes now available for your viewing pleasure! (I did one of Gaara in the Atatsuki robe and H-R said it scarred her for life... I thought I did ok!)

I'm a little annoyed about that cyber clean-out the site had a while ago. Not only did it mess up my updating sceduale, but now, after I updated Bozenjishitsu (complete!) I didn't get any reviews because everyone thinks, "Oh, well, I already read it once, you want me to go back and read it again and review?"

Answer to that question: YES!!!

P.S.: Kie-san...! This is the last cuddle chapter before we get back from our vacation from the plot, so to speak, so bear with me!

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Only For you**

Shizuka yawned hugely, stretching a little, then readjusted herself and continued reading. It's been a week and a half since Itachi and Kisame had left for their mission, and with them gone, she and Gaara had nothing to do. They weren't going to be formally introduced to the Atatsuki until their training was completed, so they didn't have any missions, and Gaara had learned a long time ago not to get involved in her games.

_What's wrong with my games?! _she thought huffily, turning the page of her book.

**Flashback**

_"They're cruel, malicious, evil, disgusting, revolting, abhorrent, contempible, ghastly, inhuman, hideous, loathesome, nauseating, offensive, outrageous, repulsive, and apalling beyond anything I myself could ever think of. Let that weigh heavily on your conscious." Gaara went back to his book._

**End flashback**

_Well, who cares what you think, stupid Gaara! _She went back to her reading, nearly tearing the page off in her rage.

Knock knock knock! "Kid!"

**_Huh...?_** She looked up. **_Kisame?_**

"Open up!"

**_Yeah, yeah, I'm coming... _**She yawned a little and crossed to the door, taking her damn good time. **_You guys are late. Itachi said only a week._**

"Open up or I'll smash the door in! You think I'm kidding, just keep sitting on your lazy ass!"

She glared and swung open the door. **_Shut your gilled face, you-- _**

Her jaw dropped.

Covered in scratchs and cuts, in Kisame's blood-stained arms, was Itachi.

_I-Itachi...? _Her head started spinning at the sight of so much blood, and on Itachi, of all people! Her knees felt suddenly weak, but she was stopped from falling by a strong grip on her arm.

"Don't faint on me, kid!" Kisame snapped, holding Itachi's unconscious body with one arm and her by the other. "You know healing, right? Well, you need to fix him!"

She gulped and nodded, gesturing to her bed. **_Lay him there..._**

Kisame did as she said while she went to her backpack and got the healing kit Kabuto had given her a while ago, taking out several rolls of bandage and trying to remember everything he had taught her about healing Chakra. When she turned around, her arms full of bandages, she found Kisame still standing by her bed, almost protectively, over Itachi.

"You listen up, brat," he said coolly. "After this, I don't want you anywhere near Itachi except for training. You're messing with his life and he doesn't need that. For his sake, if you care at all, stay away from him."

Shizuka's jaw dropped again. **_What?!_**

"You heard me." Having said what he wanted to say, Kisame crossed to the door and stepped out, slamming it shut.

Shizuka continued to stare at the door for a few minutes after it'd closed. _Ruining his life?! What the hell? _She tried to shake it off; Kisame was loco, after all. She pulled the chair away from Gaara's desk and set it next to the bed, depositing her rolls of bandages on it, then sat down on the bed. She felt a stab as she carefully pulled his Atatsuki robe off him, and laid it to the side. It was torn, blood-soaked and mud-encrusted; she would clean it later. There were deep cuts on his arms, chest and stomach. She'd have to remove is shirt; she blushed alittle at the thought, and gently started tugging it up over his head, careful not to disturb him. She yelped as his hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and wrenched it, his Sharingen eyes flashing open.

**_I-Itachi! It's me!_** She tried to pull her hand away, in vain; he was stronger then she thought.

".....Shizuka?" He starred at her with wide eyes for a few minutes, then looked around him. "What..."

**_Kisame brought you here._** She answered his half-spoken question. **_Um.. Could you let go? You're hurting me._**

"What?"

**_You're hurting me, _**she repeated, gesturing to his hand gripping her wrist.

His eyes widened again and he quickly released her, withdrawing his hand at once. "Oh."

**_'Oh'? That's it? No 'Sorry for bruising you'?_** She rolled her eyes, rubbing her wrist, which was, indeed, bruising a little.

He gave her a sarcastic look. "Do you want me to kiss it and make it all better?"

**_Yes._** She held out her wrist, grinning. _Who knew Itachi could be sarcastic!_

He rolled his eyes, but kissed the bruise anyway, taking his own good time on it, too, kissing it like he'd kiss her lips. Blushing lightly, she pulled it away and cried, **_Ok, that's enough, save some for me! _**She rolled her eyes and pulled at his shirt gently. **_Unless you want me to strip you, I suggest you take this off so I can bandage you._**

"Can't wait to get my shirt off, can you?" He smirked, and started to pull it off, but winced in pain. "Ugh..!"

**_Nevermind, I can do it!_** She pulled it off without causing him too much pain, and picked up one of the rolls of bandages.

"Shizuka?"

**_Hmm? _**She looked back at him, unrolling some of the bandage and moving so she could bandaged his arm.

"...Nothing."

**_What happened on the mission?_** she asked for the sake of conversation after a few moments of silence.

"You don't need to worry."

_**Huh..?**_

"I didn't kill anyone."

She starred at him, open-mouthed, for several long moments of silence, her hands froze in the act of bandaging him.

"....What? You said you didn't like people who killed."

**_That's how you got all these cuts?! Because you didn't kill the guy?!_** She whacked him a good one up the side of the head. **_Idiot!_**

"Ow!"

Sorry, sorry!**_ She went back to bandaging him._**

"Do you have a split personality or something? Don't answer that," he said quickly.

She shrugged and continued bandaging his arm. **_I don't mind if people kill in self-defense._**

"...I see."

_**...It was in self-defense, right?**_

"I told you I didn't kill the guy."

**_I know, but..._** She didn't meet his eyes, starring down at his arm as she mechanically bandaged it. **_Some of these missions of yours can get dangerous, and I don't want you to... _**She sniffed, against her will.

"Hey, don't cry on me, now."

**_I'm not crying! _**she shouted, even though her eyes felt hot. **_I just..._**

Itachi watched her for a few minutes while she fumbled for words, before he realized what she meant. _She doesn't want me to _die. He thought for a moment, then said, "I've often thought about that myself. I've wondered what would happen if I died on these missions, and then I wonder what people would think after I was gone. Probably something along the lines of 'good riddance' back at my home village. But," he finished, giving her the smallest of smiles, "I don;t think everyone would think 'good riddance,' so don't worry; I won't die."

**_You promise? _**she asked sternly.

Itachi starred at her.

**Flashback**

_"Always hitting my forehead and saying 'tomorrow.' I never see it."_

**End flashback**

"I can't promise anything," he said, tapping her lightly on her forehead. "But I'll try."

She nodded, and finished taping his arm. **_Sit up so I can check your back, _**she ordered, sitting back with her bandages. **_Then I'll do your legs._**

"Uh, no." He sat up as directed. "_I'll_ do my legs."

When the pity-pout didn't work, Shizuka just shrugged and went to sit behind him, in the small space there was between him and the head-board. As she unrolled some of the bandages to wrap the cuts she saw on his back, he suddenly pulled his shoes, and then his pants, out from somewhere in the coverage of the blankets, without her even being able to sneak a peek. (T.T)

_Not that I'm perverted!_ she told herself determinedly. (Uh-huh, sure.)

He noticed her look, glancing over his shoulders, and smirked. "You have no business down there." _Yet, _he added to himself.

Shizuka, of course, heard this, and blushed furiously, continuing to bandage him. There were a few moments of silence, during which Itachi blindly bandaged his legs under the blankets and Shizuka bandaged his back. After a few minutes, she paused, running her hand over the smooth curve of his back. There were more muscles then she'd felt before, pakced into his (small) frame. _Not even Sakkon or Orochimaru are like this,_ she thought, dropping the roll of bandages and wrapping her arms around his chest, hugging him from behind. She felt him stop bandaging himself, but found she didn't care. She took a deep wiff of his hair, right by her face. _His scent... it's so familiar. And nice. Like flowers... in a guy sort of way._

"Anything wrong?" he asked, after she'd been holding him for a while.

**_No... _**she said in a dazed sort of voice. _Absolutely nothing is wrong at all._

"...Ok." He rolled his shoulder, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her across his lap, giving her a firm, passionate kiss.

**Shizuka's P.O.V.**

I wish these moments we have together would never end. Being Ninja is really hard on the love-life. Soon, we'll both be on missions, for god knows how long, probably alot longer then a week and a half, and god knows what could happen to him while he's away.

I'll be fine, of course.

I can feel his heart next to mine. It's a nice feeling, having him so close. It was hard, I realize, having him so far away for the week and a half. A week seems like eternity. I love the feeling of his arms around me. The trust and security he gives me is something he would only do for me. He's so cold to everyone else, but when he's around me, he's a totally different person. He warms me from the inside out, and I feel more at home then I ever did in _Oto_ (Village of Sound).

His hand is under my shirt again, stroking my stomach. Under the blanket he has across his lap, I can feel something hard pressed against my lower back... something _huge._ But it feels kind of nice, in a foreign kind of way.

At the same time, it's kind of uncomfortable, but I can't focus enough to tell him. Besides, he said it wasn't far that I can talk while we kiss and he can't.

I don't think he'd make me uncomfortable on purpose.

Mental note: Find out what the hell the thing is, though, when he goes to sleep.

I am NOT perverted!

**Itachi's P.O.V.**

Oh god... Not again.

I can feel it. It's so obvious without my robe on, she must've felt it by now.

Why hasn't she said anything?

Oh... I must be that distracting...

I'd make a smirk if I could.

Itachi, you bitch.

I notice we haven't talked about...

-...Sex...

-...Yet. Father told me 'at that time' that men think about sex nearly fifty times every day, and do... _it_... nearly every night.

Well, for your information, O deceased Dad o' mine, I think about sex _thirty-seven_ times average each day, and haven't done _it_ once.

-...Well, there was that one time, when Kisame and I left Sunaga after recruiting Shizuka and Gaara.

Hey! She was wearing a mini skirt! And for someone who hasn't had sex before, that's something!

-....! Not that I'm a loser! I'm just pacing myself.

Actually, to be honest, I didn't think about women at all before Shizuka decided to crash-land herself into my life.

I wonder if that's a good thing.

Her skin is so soft. I wonder how a girl's skin could _be _so soft. I run my hands under her shirt, down her sides. She squirms quickly, jumping up a little on my lap. I seem to have hit a nerve.

She sure as hell hit mine.

I do it again, just to see if she will. She jumps a little again, and giggles a little against my mouth. I do it again. Her sharp movements on my lap are waking up warm recesses I didn't even know I had. A pressure is building up, and each time she jumps, it's like the valve is growing thinner and thinner. I can't help it, and tickle her some more. It feels like, if the pressure doesn't release soon, it never will.

One last sharp jump, and the pressure releases. For a split second, all I can see is black, then I fall back, suddenly exhausted, and hit my head on the head-board.

Then I see stars.

Her face is over mine, concerned and worried.

Did........Did I just have sex... with myself?

No, she was involved... somehow.

You know what, Shizuka, I wasn't such a pervert before I met you!

**End Itachi's P.O.V.**

**_Are you ok?_** Shizuka asked concernedly, stroking his face gently. **_You just sort of collasped. I didn't hurt you did I?_**

"No..." He stroked the back of her head absently._ Actually, it felt amazing..._

**_What felt amazing?_** she asked innocently.

He looked at her oddly, then remembered. "Oh that's right. You can hear my thoughts."

_**For some time, now. What felt amazing?**_

".....Well..." He cleared his throat a little. However, realization crawled on Shizuka before he could explain, and she whopped him good. "Ow!"

_**Pervert!**_

"Can we make that an invalid pervert?" he asked, rubbing his head. "You want to give me brain damage, as well?"

**_Sorry! _**She kissed the spot she'd hit tenderly, then sat back. **_I still don't understand how--_**

"Don't worry about it," he cut her off.

_**But--**_

"Don't _worry_ about it," he repeated. "We'll get around to talking about that eventually. I don't want you worrying about my perverse problems. Alright?"

**_'We'?_** She gave him a coy look.

"Yes, 'we', _koibito_. Do you have a problem with that?"

She shook her head, grinnin sheepishly at the title. (_Koibito_: lover, girlfriend/boyfriend.) **_Nope._** She laid her head down on his chest. **_Not at all._**

After a few moments, he gave her a push and said, "Yeah, well, I'm bleeding all over your bed, so get back to work."

**_Oh, yeah, I feel the love._** She rolled her eyes and sat up, finishing bandaging his shoulders.

"I never said anything about 'love,'" he pointed out quickly.

**_Sure._** She rolled her eyes. _Men and their egos._


	18. Your Daughter Down

**Apprentice**

_A holiday special..._

**S.N.G.'s Little Newsletter:**

**New Manga releases:**

Bleach, Vol. 5: A pretty good book, all around. The series is also very good, if you like comic/serious situations with hilarious main characters and supernatural sources. If you already know the series, go buy this book today! (Or... hint at it so other people will buy it for Christmas presents!)

NARUTO, Vol. 5: Introducing: The Chuunin exam! Konoha Genins find themselves subject to welcoming Nins from other villages, as well as those in their own city borders. Sasuke finds himself a new rival in "the spook with the gourd" and Sakura meets another guy who likes her... BUY BUY BUY!!

**SHONEN JUMP GOES ON SALE DECEMBER 7TH, TO THOSE INTERESTED!**

**Upcoming Birthdays:**

_Rock Lee:_ November 27

Anyone? Anyone? Any November/December babies out there? Let me know if there are!

Hmm... can't think of anything else... if there are any columns any one would like to have put up, please let me know! I'll be updating this every once and a while between now and Christmas.

This was supposed to be a song chapter... it went through five stages (gasp!) and it was all Kittie songs. First it was Daughters Down then it was Whore, then it was Daughters again, and so on and so forth. In the end, it turned out to just be a chapter. So excuse me if it seems kind of choppy...

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: Your Daughter Down**

**(Later That Night)**

Itachi woke to someone pounding unrelentlessly on the door to Shizuka and Gaara's room. He glanced down at said Shizuka to find that she was still sound asleep, despite the banging. He got up, tossed on his Atatusuki uniform (he hadn't really gotten around to getting dressed again after he'd gotten undressed for her to bandage him) and stormed over to the door, throwing it open.

"Shut up, Kisame," he ordered angrily. "Some of us were trying to sleep."

"Well, wake them up, we have a meeting," Kisame suggested, rolling his eyes. "Oh, and leave her here." He nodded to Shizuka. "The last thing we need is another all-out brawl in the meeting hall."

"Brawl?"

Kisame nodded. "Orochimaru came back. And he has his... assistant."

"Kabuto."

"No... Although Kabuto is here." Kisame sighed. "Just come on. And do something about your hair."

Itachi scowled, grabbing his hair together and tying it down, following Kisame.

**(In The Meeting Hall)**

Orochimaru smirked hugely, reclining back in his chair. The Atatsuki was practically eating out of his hand. Why?

He had one of the only remaining heirs to the Uchiha family standing behind him.

Something was missing...

Why weren't the Atatsuki really eating out of his hand?

He glanced around at the six members present. Yashi, a runaway from the Stone village, Koujira, Yashi's partner, a runaway from the Mist village, Reinma, from the Thunder Village, Kama, Reinma's partner from Grass, Koshudai, the leader of the Atatsuki, from Rain, and, to Orochimaru's immeadiate shock and sweat of fear, Gaara, of Sunaga.

Wait. Double take.

_Six_ members? Where were the other three? Gaara's partner, as well as Kisame and Uchiha, weren't here. He needed all members present for his announcement.

Unless Gaara didn't have a partner, thus leaving a place open. Then, maybe, his plan would work.

Kisame and Itachi trudged into the room, Itachi looking strangely bed-worn. They took their seats between Koshudai and Gaara. Gaara, as Kisame's 'student,' sat on Kisame's right. There was an empty place between Itachi and Kisame, where Shizuka, as Itachi's student, would normally sit. Koshudai started to say something along the lines of rebuke for tardiness to Itachi, thought better of it, and turned to Orochimaru. "You were saying?"

"Not all members are present," Orochimaru said in a high-and-mighty voice.

"None of your concern," Koshudai said cooly, reading Itachi's look. Shizuka, with her strange personality, was a favorite of Koshudai's. He was none-too-willing to let her sleep the day away if she so pleased. "Just give us the announcement and be quick about it. You're not so immportant that we should bend over backwards out of our way for you."

Orochimaru scowled, but began his 'announcement' all the same. "As you know, this is Uchiha Sasuke, of Konoha. A runaway. He will be training under me for the next three years in order to be a suitable containor. However, I highly doubt Konoha will let him go so easy, so I need your promise of protection while I am training him."

Itachi starred at his brother for some time after this 'announcement' was made, but found Sasuke starring at the floor, his hands behind his back. Little known to a few people in the room, Sasuke's hands were behind his back because he was digging his nails into his palms in an effort to calm himself down, using pain as a prevention technique against throwing himself across the table and strangling his brother.

There was a deep silence after this announcement. No one was sure what to say. As usual, everyone looked to Koshudai and Itachi for the verdict, but Koshudai had nothing to say, his chin in his hand thoughtfully.

Finally to the surprise of all, Itachi spoke up. "I don't see why we should, when you quit our organization. We have no obligations to you."

The others in the room, excluding Gaara and Kisame, starred at him for a few minutes. It was unlike Itachi to speak up so quickly. Normally, he waited for Koshudai's verdict before speaking, if he spoke at all. Kisame and Gaara, however, knew he was just _slightly_ bitter to Orochimaru for lying to Shizuka. (Shizuka and Itachi are the only ones who think no one knows about them) After a few moments of thought, there was a murmur of agreement.

"I agree with Uchiha," Reinma voiced from down the table. "Quit Atatsuki, and then crawl back as soon as you need us again?"

Kabuto, standing on Orochimaru's other side, groaned inwardly. He, of course, knew this would happen.

"All I need is just one pair to watch us, and kill any leaf nins who come," Orochimaru protested. "It's also highly possible the Kyuubi itself will come in some time."

There was another murmur. The Atatsuki needed the Kyuubi. If they could get it easily by just doing guard duty, it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"'In some time'?" Itachi repeated, looking scornful. "By 'in some time,' I suppose you mean in a few years? I prefer speeding up the Kyuubi's arrival time and getting it ourselves while it's medium is still young and weak, thanks. In a few years, who knows how strong Naruto could get? When Kisame and I last saw him, he was with Jiraiya, one of the sennin. No doubt he was his teacher."

Another murmur. Orochimaru scoffed. "Jiraiya couldn't teach anyone to be strong enough to control Kyuubi in just a few short years."

"Really? Even though he came just a few seconds short from beating Kisame and I?" Itachi scoffed. "You wouldn't be able to admit that you and Jiraiya are on equal ground if someone hit you over the head with it."

Before Orochimaru could counter this, however, Koshudai spoke up. "We'll consider your offer, Orochimaru. Until then, you know where you're staying. We'll talk again tomorrow. Meeting ajourned."

Itachi starred at Koshudai long and hard while the other members got up and started moving around.

"Just wait," Koshudai whispered, so only Itachi could hear. "Shizuka will be awake by then. We'll see what happens."

Itachi gave him a look. "She's not just a tool."

"I know, but I'm interested to see his reaction when he finds his only daughter is in our organization."

**(The Next Morning)**

Shizuka woke up the next morning to whispers in her ear. Opening her eyes, she saw Itachi's head resting on her pillow, his eyes open and awake, watching her, barely an inch away.

_Whoa!_ She backed away slightly, more for the need for personal space then anything else. **_W-What's up?_**

"You only just woke up?" He shook his head. "Oh well, it's best you didn't."

_**...Why?**_

"While you were asleep, some people came to visit."

_**'People'? You guys accept visitors?**_

"No. But Orochimaru has his own way of doing things."

Her jaw dropped.**_ Orochimaru?! Here?!_**

He nodded. "With Sasuke. Call it an apprentice thing. Wherever Orochimaru goes, Sasuke goes."

_**I don't have to see him, do I?**_

"Koshudai-san would like you to at least come to the meeting today. You don't have to say anything," he added before she could protest. "Koshudai-san just wants to see Orochimaru's reaction. Then you and I can go off to train. And don't worry. I won't let him take you back." He nodded knowingly.

**_When's the meeting?_** she asked hesitantly.

"In about fifteen minutes. I was hoping you'd wake up later and be late, but oh well."

_**...You are ony weird hell-child, you know that.**_

"I try."

**(Fifteen Minutes Later)**

Shizuka shifted uncomfortably in her seat next to Itachi. They'd come earlier then usual, just so she wuldn't have time to think about it. Gaara continually sent her glances which read, _Don't do anything that would make me squish him. _

Shizuka rolled her eyes as the doors to the meeting hall opened. Koshudai entered, with Orochimaru, Sasuke and Kabuto on his tail.

It was Kabuto who noticed her first. His jaw dropped. "Shizuka-kun!"

Orochimaru's head snapped up. "Shizuka?!"

Shizuka starred back at them with the look she'd learned from Itachi.

"Shizuka-kun!" Orochimaru cried. "What are you doing here?!"

_What does it look like I'm doing here?_ she thought to herself.

"Oh, did I not mention?" Koshudai said pleasently. "We have two new members in yours and Kabuto's place: Sabuka no Gaara and Hakai-teki no Shizuka." He folded his hands and rested his chin on them. "Ain't teamwork amazin'?"

Orochimaru starred, from Shizuka to Gaara to Koshudai to Itachi, then back around the loop again. "I don't understand--! She's not a runaway Nin!"

"She is now." Koshudai smiled pleasently.

Orochimaru starred at Shizuka, who starred back, Itachi-style.

"Show him your headband, Shizuka-kun," Koshudai ordered.

Shizuka gave him a look. **_I haven't shredded it yet,_** she said to him alone. (A/N: Shizuka can channel her 'voice,' so to speak, to whoever she wants. If she wants to make a general statement, she channels her voice to everyone present. Or to the people concerned. Makes it really uncomfortable, when you think about it. If you can't hear her voice, it looks like you're talking to yourself.)

Orochimaru continued to stare.

Finally, Kabuto spoke up. "Shizuka-kun... why did you run away?"

Shizuka turned her eyes on him.

"Answer, Shizuka," Orochimaru said in a dazed sort of voice; apparently, this was too much for him tot ake in in one sitting.

"We have our own questions," Itachi said coldly. "And I think you owe her some answers before she even begins to answer our questions."

Orochimaru glared at Itachi for a few minutes, then turned to Shizuka. "Do you have any questions, then?"

"I'll speak for her, thanks," Itachi interrupted. "She doesn't want to talk to you."

Orochimaru glanced from Shizuka to Itachi, looking as if his head were going to explode. He sighed heaaavily. "Fine. But after this is over, I want my answer, Koshudai."

"And you shall get it," Koshudai assured him, looking amused. "Reinma,Yashi, Koujira, Kama, you can go. I'll send Kisame to get you when we need you again."

The four members nodded and got up, leaving Gaara, Kisame, Itachi, Shizuka, Koshudai, Orochimaru, Sasuke and Kabuto alone (if you can call 8 people being alone).

"Q&A time," Koshudai said pleasently.

"Why wasn't Shizuka allowed to know about your killing obsessions?" Itachi asked.

Orochimaru smirked. "No one wants their children to feel unsafe around them. You wouldn't understand, would you?"

"Lying to them doesn't really help," Kisame said coolly.

"What do you know about children?" Orochimaru scoffed.

"There are no children here, Orochimaru," Koshudai said, in that same pleasent voice. "As far as I can see, Shizuka is a woman absolutely capable of taking care of herself. Continue, Itachi."

Orochimaru chuckled slightly, glancing at Shizuka. "What's the dirty face for, Shizuka-kun? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Shizuka growled, deep in her throat. It was a feral noise, but she didn't do anything else.

**  
**Itachi touched her knee gently and whispered, "Shut up. I'll take care of it." However, since there was a tablecloth on the table, Orochimaru didn't see. Itachi glared at him. _What a bastard. I'll kill him..._

"It seems to me," Koshudai said absently, "that the need for over-protection has passed. In fact, I doubt any of your special nins would be suffient enough to protect Shizuka-kun. She's grown strong since you last saw her."

Orochimaru scoffed. "Hardly. She could barely throw kunai when she was ten."

"She killed when she was ten," Kisame corrected. "As I recall from your file, yo didn't want to kill until you were seventeen. Am I right?" (S/N: Made that up...)

Orochimaru glared at him. Shizuka dug her nails into her palms.

"Kisame," Koshudai said threatentingly. "Continue, Itachi, please."

**_Ask him about the plan,_** Shizuka ordered Itachi.

"What was 'the plan' about?" Itachi asked accordingly.

"Aha. I knew that had something to do with it." Orochimaru laughed. "That Sakkon. He never really was very trustworthy, was he? Couldn't keep a damn secret."

Shizuka growled.

"The plan was, put simply, a well-thought out battle that would result in my capturing Sasuke, and, in the meantime, destorying Konoha." Orochimaru smiled toothily at Shizuka. "I'm surprised you didn't figure it out, yourself. You're so damn nosey."

**_Ask him about the Five,_** Shizuka said, gritting her teeth. Itachi asked accordingly.

"Ah, yes." Orochimaru smiled fondly. "My strongest guards. Didn't you know?"

**_Know what? _**Shizuka asked, forgetting she wasn't speaking to him.

Orochimaru just smiled.

**  
_Tell me! _**she shouted. **_Where are they?!_**

Two seats down from her, Gaara tensed slightly.

**  
**Orochimaru scoffed. "I'll never understand why you care so much. They're just your slaves."

**_Shut the hell up and tell me! _**she shouted, banging her fist on the table.

**  
**Orochimaru smirked, meeting her dead in the eye. "They died."

Shizuka's eyes widened.**_ Y-You're lying!_**

"Would I?" Orochimaru smirked. "I may lie about some things, Shizuka-kun, but that is not one of them."

_**S-Shut up! You old geezer! You're lying!**_

"Shizuka-kun--"

**_Leave me alone! _**Shizuka growled at Kabuto. To Orochimaru, she shouted,**_ How could you let them die?! They worshipped you! They did everything for you! How could you just let them die?!_**

"If they were stupid enough to die," Orochimaru said coolly, "then I have no use for them. I have better tools now."

Shizuka's eyes widened, scowling (at the same time... it can happen). Beside her, Itachi attempted at sending her looks to calm her down, but she wasn't paying attention.

"They served their purposes as your teachers," Orochimaru continued. "They gave you competition, and drive, but that was all. You'll never be as strong as them, it's true, but you've come a long way, I suppose."

**_I don't understand!_** she shouted, standing up. **_How could they have died?!_**

Orochimaru smirked. "Would you like to see?" he asked, almost kindly, making a handseal.

Shizuka's eyes widened.

"Genjutsu!"

_Orochimaru's Genjutsu_

_Shizuka's eyes widened; she was in a cave. _**What--where is--**

_"Shi..zuka...sama...!"_

_Shizuka turned, smiling a little. _**Sakkon!**

_Her eyes widened._

_Sakkon was covered in scratchs and blood; the crack of bones could be heard every time he moved._

_Shizuka felt herself shaking. _**Sakkon...?!**

_"Shizuka-sama... don't... you have to go..." Sakkon coughed up blood, collasping over; the sound of bones crunching echoed through the cave. "Please... it's not safe..."_

_Shizuka's eyes widened even more. _**What the hell?! What's not safe!?**

_"Just... go...! Go, now... before they can find you!"_

**I can just leave you here! **_she snapped, going to kneel next to him._

_Sakkon started to say something in protest, but his throat exploded in a spurt of blood. Shizuka felt the thick, dark liquid cover her and her hands..._

_"Shizuka...sama..."_

_End Orochimaru's Genjutsu_

Shizuka stared blankly at her hands, still caught, mentally, in the Genjutsu. Itachi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. _What's wrong with her...?_

Orochimaru smirked. "Seems I used too much. A few seconds would have been fine."

Itachi's eyes snapped on Orochimaru. "You--"

"Itachi, take Shizuka-kun to her room. I doubt she'll be able to attend training today," Koshudai said loudly.

Itachi scowled, but did as he was told, helping Shizuka to stand up and leading her out of the room.

"In answer to your question, Orochimaru," Koshudai continued, "having two Atatsuki in your midts requires trust, to an extent. You can even let your own daughter trust you. The answer is no."

Orochimaru's eyes widened. "What!?"

"I'm giving you ten minutes to get out of Kisame's _samahada_ range," Koshudai continued, standing up and crossing to the door. "Get the hell out."

Kisame and Gaara turned to Orochimaru, smirking.


	19. Visions Blurred

**Apprentice**

I only got four reviews for the last chapter, but I had to update anyway to get this one out of the way...

But!!! But, but, but... I expect no less then six reviews for this!! Please???? I like writing this alot, but, for my other stories, I had to work for only, like, three reviews a chapter...which is why Catharsis is on it's way to being discontinued...! So please, don't make me discontinue this for lack of reviews!

Since the last chapter wasn't a song chapter like I'd wanted it to be, this one is... for the BEST love song ever, thank you very much.

I LOVE SONG CHAPTERS!!!!

Please excuse me if some text is centered when it shouldn't be... stuff happens and I mess up. Please bear with me! Just a key: If it's not Genjutsu spells, flashbacks, or lyrics (and I will say which is which) it shouldn't be centered. Just ignore the rest.

P.S: Has anyone noticed how long my chapters are getting...?? This one was around 12 pages!! O.o Not alot, you say? It is, for me. Alot of my one-shots are twelve pages!

**Chapter Eighteen: Visions Blurred**

**-Cue Blurry-**

Itachi watched Shizuka sleep, her eyes scrunched up as if she were in pain. It was a new expression to him; he'd seen alot of expressions on her, but never one so wrenching.

**Everything's so blurry**

But, then again, it was never easy find out you've been living a lie your own parent constructed for you.

**  
and everyone's so fake**

A month or so ago, Itachi would have found himself not caring. So what if Orochimaru had lied to her? He was a sick bastard.

Of course... That was before he started to care.

**and everybody's empty**

It had been, so to speak, easier before. Back when he didn't care. He didn't have such a dead-on hindsight. He never asked himself, before doing something, 'How would she feel if I did this, or this?'

**  
and everything is so messed up**

It was a hollow feeling, being alone, now. More then once, he'd snuck into her room, just to watch her sleep. She was so peaceful-looking then.

**  
pre-occupied without you**

He gently stroked her cheek with a finger; tear-stains met; he brushed them away. She was going through something, inside... something, or someone... and he couldn't protect her from it.

**  
I cannot live at all**

He'd always been protecting someone, he realized. First, he'd protected Sasuke, out of brotherly instinct, then he'd protected Kisame (from what, he wasn't sure) and now, he protected Shizuka. Or, at least, he tried.

**  
My whole world surrounds you**

He grimaced slightly as new tears fell over his fingers; seeing her cry, with no other way to express what she was going through inside, was something he never wanted to see again. He looked away.

**  
I stumble then I crawl**

His eyes fell on the backpack she'd brought with her. Now, Itachi had never been a nosey person, nor a snooper. But he was, secretly, incredubily curious by nature.**  
**

**You could be my someone**

He pulled it towards himself and opened the flap. Just one look wouldn't hurt, right? He peeked in. The first thing he saw was a picture. It was a small picture, barely two-by-two inches, and showed Shizuka, a much younger one, with a lavender-haired boy about Itachi's age.

**  
you could be my scene  
**

_This must be one of 'The Four',_ he thought, frowning. _Those guys... The ones Orochimaru 'killed' in his Genjutsu._

**you know that I'll protect you**

He pushed it aside and continued looking. He found a book of sign-language, a few coupons for ramen, and a pamphlette for Konoha.

_Konoha?_

**  
from all of the obscene**

He glanced over at her; she was still asleep. What was she doing in Konoha? He shrugged it off; he could ask her later... somehow. He dug into the backpack further, avoiding the "womenly products." He withdrew a small pack of papers with different kinds of handwriting on them. Letters.

**  
I wonder what you're doing**

_Dear Shizuka-sama, we're here in the Thunder village, and it's not really all it could be. The food isn't as good, and the rooms suck. But that's ok. We'll be back in about five days. In the meantime, don't you do anything stupid. :) --Sakkon_

**  
imagine where you are**

Itachi frowned, looking at the letter for a few minutes, then turned to the next one. _This Sakkon guy is bothering me... Hey, Shizuka wrote this one..._

**  
there's oceans in between us**

_Sakkon-- What do you mean, 'don't do anything stupid'?! I'm not a baby anymore!! Man, it's so boring around here! All I can do is read books and summon chakra and useless stuff. You guys better get home soon! --S._

**  
but that's not very far  
**

_She's... never talked to us like that..._ Itachi stared at the letter. Now that he thought about it... he didn't know shit about Shizuka's past other then she was Orochimaru's daughter.

**  
Can you take it all away**

It just hadn't bothered him before now.

**  
can you take it all away**

_Face it... you don't know anything about her... _he told himself with a grimace.

**Flashback**

_"You're so quick to defend her, Itachi-san... but what's she ever done for you?" Kisame asked with a frown._

**End flashback**

_Why did I think of that just now..?!_

**  
well they shoved it in my face**

_Because it's true... she hasn't done anything for you except catch your attention._

**  
this pain they gave to me**

_That's not true! She's... different..._

_From what? You don't know anything about women._

**  
Can you take it all away**

_That's not true either... I know about women... now... Otherwise I wouldn't bother. Besides, she makes me feel..._

**  
can you take it all away**

_Feel what?_

_Just feel. It's different. I like it._

_You can't feel anything. You're Uchiha Itachi. _We _can't feel anything._

**  
well they shoved it my face  
**

_Shut up... I can feel... she makes me feel._

**  
Everyone is changing**

_What happened to the cold Itachi who killed his clan?_

_I don't know... It doesn't matter. That Itachi isn't the one she likes. She likes me just the way I am now._

**  
there's no one left that's real**

_Likes _you_, or that fact that you can protect her? Face it. There probably hasn't been one time in her entire life that she hasn't been protected by someone._

_How do you know she hasn't changed too?_

**  
So make up your own ending**

_She strikes me as the unchangable, stubborn type._

Itachi glanced at Shizuka, who had, sometime, assumed the fetal position: not exactly the position one would take if they were heartless.

**  
and let me know just how you feel**

_Not everything ends in betrayal and heartbreak, _he told himself with a smile._ And people can change. Look at me, smiling. _

**  
I am lost--Without you,**

_So you're saying that just by meeting someone, you can change how you've been your entire life? Get real. One person can't have that effect on someone._

**  
I cannot live at all**

Itachi's eyes widened.

**Flashback**

_Itachi felt his back hit the wall; he heard Kisame shout; felt the trickle of blood running down the back of his neck from the cut he knew was now on the back of his head; still found himself unable to fight back._

**-Flashback-Within-A-Flashback-**

_**I can't trust people who I know have killed now... I don't know, it just makes me feel insecure, like I don't even know if they'd kill me.**_

**-End Flashback-Within-A-Flashback-**

_Itachi felt more and more blows raining down on him, and still, couldn't even bring himself to raise his Sharingan. _Damn, Shizuka, you better notice this...!

**End Flashback**

_One person _can_ have that effect on someone,_ he though with a smirk.

**  
my whole world surrounds you**

_It's just a matter of how much you care about them. I matter to her, therefore I'm willing to take shit from bastards like that Rain Nin._

**Flashback**

_She didn't meet his eyes, starring down at his arm as she mechanically bandaged it. **Some of these missions of yours can get dangerous, and I don't want you to... **She sniffed, against her will._

_"Hey, don't cry on me, now."_

_**I'm not crying! **she shouted, even though her eyes felt hot. **I just...**_

_Itachi watched her for a few minutes while she fumbled for words, before he realized what she meant. _She doesn't want me to _die. _

**End Flashback**

**  
I stumble then I crawl**

_You've gotten weak. The old Itachi wouldn't care about something like that._

_If the old Itachi is someone she'd hate, I'm better off without him. I said she likes me for who and how I am now. That's all that matters._

You could be my someone

_She'll leave you if she finds someone stronger. It's only a matter of time._

_I doubt that. And if she does, I'll just kill them. No one will come between us anymore._

**  
you could be my scene**

_Aren't you the little hypocrite. You said you wouldn't kill, and here--_

_I'd kill to keep her here, don't mix it together. Killing for pleasure and killing for vital emotional survival are two totally different things._

**  
You know that I will save you**

He glanced over at her again, and shifted so he was lying next to her, pulling her closer. _Two totally different things,_ he repeated to himself, wiping away the fresh tears that crawled across her cheeks.

**  
from all of the unclean**

_She's dreaming,_ he thought, watching her eyes scrunch and unscrunch every few minutes. _Looks painful..._

**  
I wonder what you're doing**

_Probably about that Sakkon-guy. I wonder who he was to her...?_

**  
I wonder where you are**

_Why not use your Sharingan, and copy her actions and see what she's dreaming about?_

**  
There's oceans in between us**

_That would be an invasion of privacy... Good idea!_

**  
but that's not very far**

_Shizuka's Dream..._

_Itachi found himself standing in a grass-covered field. At first he thought he was alone, then remembered: this was Shizuka's dream. She had to be here somewhere. He looked around, making up his mind to find her._

_A voice called his attention._

_"Let's be friends forever, Shizuka-sama."_

_Itachi turned. His jaw uncharacteristically dropped._

_Shizuka (a much younger Shizuka, at that) was standing before the lavender-haired guy from her picture. She was smiling. "Forever? What's that mean?"_

_Itachi did a swift double-take. _Shizuka could talk? Oh yeah. This was her dream. Anything was possible.

_"'Forever'? Well..." The lavender-haired guy scratched his chin. "I guess it means we'll always be friends because we won't ever hurt each other."_

_"You promise?" Shizuka asked with wide, innocent eyes._**  
**

**Can you take it all away**

_The lavender-haired guy smiled and said, without hesitation, "Yeah. I promise. 'Till forever, then?"_

_Shizuka nodded, grinning. "Mm!"_

**Can you take it all away**

_Itachi whirled around as the scenery suddenly changed into that of someone's bedroom. Exactly whose, he wasn't sure. But it was definately a ninja's room. The Shurinken hanging on the wall were a dead giveaway._

_"Why do you think Orochi-daddy put us together?"_

_Itachi turned at the voice. It was Shizuka again, but a little older this time. She was sitting on the bed having her arm bandaged by none other then the lavender-haired guy._

_He shrugged. "Probably so I can protect you."_

_"I don't need protection!"_

_"Right, right... and Tayuya's hair is really that red."_

**  
well they shoved it in my face  
**

_Once again, the scenary changed, this time into that of a dark cave. There were people in it other then Itachi, two men who looked more like thugs, a girl scrunched up in the fetal position against the cave wall, and a guy standing over her. _

"_Do not touch Shizuka-sama... or I'll kill you!"_

_Itachi held his head as the scenary changed; it was really starting to make him dizzy._

Who the hell was this guy who kept reappearing?!

_Shizuka yawned, skip/jumping down the side of a mountain, the lavender-guy following closely; he was covered in bruises and cuts this time._

_"You know, if we were going to carry out your plan, I would have done some damn good acting," he pointed out, wiping blood out of his eyes._

_Shizuka just shrugged."I doubt it. You suck at acting either way."_

_Itachi starred as the scenary reeled again. _Who was this? _She _never_ acted so... shit-faced... around him. Normally, she was fairly agreeable to him... with a small attitude problem._

Who were these people?

**this pain they gave to me**

_"But if you think you should go, I suppose you should. It's not really for me to say."_

_"But I want your opinion!" she protested. "I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't!"_

_"There's no need to get angry. I only meant that, even if I say you shouldn't, you would start to miss Sakkon and the others, and go after them."_

_"I wouldn't miss Sakkon,"she argued,rather too quickly._

Again with the Sakkon!_ Itachi thought angrily, watching as Shizuka spoke with the person in the hospital bed. _I have yet to actually see this guy!

**Can you take it all away**

_Itachi watched Shizuka sip a cup of some hot drink, gazing out into the slowly waning sunset with a thoughtful expression he'd never seen on her. "What are you doing here... Sakkon?"_

_Itachi whirled around. _Who?!

........The lavender guy?

_'Sakkon' seemed to faltered for a split second, almost dropping the two cups of ramen he was holding. "Shizuka-sama," he said politely, "why aren't you inside? Tayuya boiled the water for the ramen cups and it isn't poisonous. It's a national phenomenon!" _

_Itachi glanced from 'Sakkon' to Shizuka and back again. This_ was Sakkon?! Her friend for life was a guy with two heads?_ Actually, come to think of it... Itachi had seen the guy dangling along behind Orochimaru on some occasions._

_"What's wrong?" Sakkon sat down next to her, draping an arm around her shoulders._

Hey! No one does that to her except me!_ Itachi tried to punch Sakkon, but to no avail, as his fist went right through him._

**Can you take it all away  
**

_She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You've gotten bold, Sakkon." _

_"Can't I?" He grinned, pulling her closer._

No, you can't!_ Itachi shouted, barely two inches away from Sakkon. _No one lookes at her, or touches her, or talks to her like that except me! Got it?! (Itachi? Possessive? 'Course not!)

**  
Can you take it all away**

_"What if Kidoumaru saw you, and used it for blackmail?" she pointed out, resting her head on his shoulder. _

_Itachi's jaw dropped. _What the hell is going on here?!

_"Besides," she continued, "you used to blush just helping me bandage myself, or having to touch me below the waist."_

_"Well, would you like me to go back to the 'yes, ma'am, no, ma'am' Sakkon you tormented relentlessly?" he asked with a grin._

Yes, I would!_ Itachi shouted at him._

_"No," she admitted, (Itachi starred) tracing the Yin-Yang sign on the skirt of her dress with her finger. "I like this Sakkon."_

_"You _like _this Sakkon?" he repeated keenly._

YOU LIKE THIS SAKKON?! _Itachi shouted, getting in her face._

_She nodded, taking the bait he was throwing her. "He's a good kisser."_

**  
Well they shoved it my face**

_Itachi felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, starring at them as he was slowly pulled out of the scene. The immeadiate shock he'd just recieved caused him to let up his Sharingan..._

_End Shizuka's Dream..._

Itachi's eyes snapped open. He starred at her sleeping face, wide-eyed.

_'He's a good kisser!'_

_What the hell?!_ Itachi sat up, continuing to stare at her. _This Sakkon guy... was something going on between them? And now he's dead?**  
**_**  
Nobody told me what you thought**

But, somehow, after the initial shock, Itachi found himself unable to get angry. Obviously, something had happened between them... Shizuka and Sakkon... They must have been really close for a long, long time... and now he was dead.

**  
Nobody told me what to say**

_Her 'friend forever' is dead... _he thought, feeling as if a knife were being twisted inside him. _Having to go through that... all at once? And not die screaming? God..._

Itachi nearly spat his brains out as a prick to his memory brought back old images.

**Flashback**

_"Itachi...! What're you doing?! What the hell?!"_

_Itachi moved closer, raising the samurai sword he carried. He could see her face, just barely in the waning moonlight... saw her face twisted in fear and agony.... Found himself not caring._

**  
Everyone showed you where to turn**

_"Wait! Itachi! Kill me first! Don't kill her!" His father threw himself in the swords' path before Itachi had time to react._

_He slew them both at once._

**  
Told you when to run away**

_Itachi's eyes widened... He had sudden second thoughts..._

_No._

**  
Nobody told you where to hide**

_He'd come too far. Much too far to have second thoughts now. Hindsight could bite his ass._

**  
Nobody told you what to say**

_"Nii-san!"_

**  
Everyone showed you where to turn**

**End flashback**

Itachi closed his eyes as new images flashed across his memory (that's why it's called a flashback).

**Flashback**

_Shisui backed away, starring at Itachi as he advanced. "Itachi--? What?"_

_"Forgive me, Shisui," Itachi said quietly, looking at his friend's feet. "But... I need the Eye."_

**  
Showed you when to run away**

_A grunt as he was pushed. A splash of water._

_That was it._

_The Mange Sharingan was his._

This pain they gave to me

**End flashback**

Itachi opened his eyes again when he felt a soft hand on his. He glanced up.

**_What's wrong, Itachi-kun? _**Shizuka asked, passing a hand over his forehead, which was covered in sweat, he realized. **_You look like you've seen a ghost.  
_  
You take it all**

"I have," he said quietly. But suddenly... all that seemed far away now.

_**Huh? What are you...?**_

"Don't worry about it." He looked away.

**  
You take it all away...  
**

_**Why shouldn't I?! I'm worried about you, you act all strange, and you tell me not to worry?! Something is seriously wrong and you won't tell me!**_

"That's right."

**This pain they gave to me**

**_Why not?_** She sat up, putting a hand on both his cheeks and forcing him to look at her. **_Why don't you ever tell me anything?_**

"Because..." He closed his eyes, only to have the lids forced up by her thumbs. "That hurts."

**  
You take it all away  
**

**_Forget it, just answer the question. Why don't you tell me anything?_** she repeated.

He smiled slightly, pulling her across his lap. "Because it's already forgotten."

**This pain they gave to me**

She raised an eyebrow as he pulled her closer. **_What're you talking about now?_**

"Just that. It's all forgotten."

**Take it all away  
**

_**All what forgotten? You're not making sense.**_

"I don't have to make sense, do I?" He smiled again, pressing her head against his shoulder. "Nothing has to make sense unless it's wrong."

**This pain they gave to me**

After a few moments of silence, during which Shizuka tired to figure out this last statement and Itachi thought on matters important to him, he spoke up again, "Shizuka... What would you say if I told you..."

**_Told me what?_** She looked up at him.

"Told you... that there was a chance you would be able to speak, without voice-jutsus, just with your own vocal chords?"

* * *

My god, Itachi has an Inner-Itachi!! O.o As it turns out... centered is hard to write! It comes out all funky... oh well... I think it looks cool... right? 


	20. When Your Spirit

**Apprentice**

S.N.G. Would like to thank the following reviewers for reviewing for every single chapter of this story: Dragonman180, kie-san, jazzywolf and Malitia. You guys rock!! DM180's reviews make me laugh the most (not that all the reviews are awesome). You're a weird dude, DM... Lol o well, it's cool! Thank you all!

I LOVE ALL MY REVIEWERS!!!! (These guys just happen to stick out...)

Someone said Itachi was being too... what was it?

Kyuubi: Annoying

(ignore) Sensitive. I don't think you would think that way if you actually read what he said to his "other self." He goes on and on about how she makes him "feel" even though he wouldn't have, normally. I just think that Itachi's growing up, now that he has someone who needs him, for him to protect. He's never really had someone like Shizuka, and it's throwing his world out of whack. He needs to be responsible, now. So, honestly, I don't think he's getting sensitive, just more in touch with his emotions.

Kyuubi: Whatever's left of them.

(ignore)

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: When Your Spirit...**

"Shizuka... What would you say if I told you..."

**_Told me what?_** She looked up at him.

"Told you... that there was a chance you would be able to speak, without voice-jutsus, just with your own vocal chords?"

Shizuka's eyes widened. **_What..?!_**

"I'm just asking."

_**Kabuto said it couldn't be done.**_

"I think it could."

_**How do you know?**_

"I don't know. I think."

_**Why?**_

"Well, if it's something you want to do, I think we should take the chance."

_**Again, why?**_

"Don't you _want_ to be able to speak?" He looked her in the eye.

She starred back for a few minutes, then looked away and nodded slightly.

"Then, let's go. Get Gaara and Kisame." He stood up and set her on her feet.

_**Go where?**_

He smirked at her knowingly. "To Konoha."

**(Scene Change)**

Orochimaru glared at the two Atatsuki members before him.

Kisame and Gaara glared back.

"I will say this once," Kisame growled, his hand on his _samahada_ hilt. "Shizuka will not go back with you. End of story."

Orochimaru smirked, as well. "I will say this once, as well: Shizuka is my daughter, and whether she likes it or not, she is bound to me for the rest of her life."

_**Come to the gate now. Itachi says so.**_

Kisame's widened at the sudden intrusion in his thoughts. He glanced at Gaara; he'd heard it, too. He nodded.

"Excuse us, Orochimaru." Kisame stood up and went to the door, closely followed by Gaara. "We have unfinished business with people of more importance."

Orochimaru growled.

Kisame smirked and walked out with Gaara. "Wonder what she wants?"

"Who knows." Gaara shrugged crossing his arms.

_**Today would be nice, people!**_

"Ok, ok." They picked up the pace.

**(At the Gate)**

"So, we're going to Konoha on a semipermanant draw to see if they can heal her vocal chords?" Kisame raised an eyebrow. "I'm thinking this isn't an over-night trip."

"No, probably not." Itachi smirked.

"But on the bright side, we won't have an annoying voice in our heads all the time, and we get some privacy." Kisame grinned.

TWHACK.

Shizuka and Itachi walked away, leaving Kisame with a large bump on his head.

"Such violence..." the sharkman said shakily, getting up and following them. "Can't you take a joke? My god!"

_**Shut up!**_

Bicker-bicker, complain-complain, crab-crab, whine-whine, BLOOD, PAIN.

Silence.

"This is gonna be a long trip," Gaara stated.

**(Later)**

**_This is kind of fun! _**Shizuka stated happily, looking around from her perch.

"Yeah, whatever." Itachi rolled his eyes.

Kisame glanced at them. Shizuka was seated upon Itachi's shoulders, like a two-year-old, with her hands clasped under his chin. Itachi, strangely enough, was allowing this, but with a grudging air. _This is getting interesting._

"Haven't you been this way before?" Gaara asked of his 'partner.'

**_Only once, and it wasn't that much fun,_** Shizuka said knowingly. **_Kidoumaru kept saying I was-- _**She stopped.

Itachi looked up at her, slightly confused. _Oh. Kidoumaru must have been one of the Four. _"Mind your own business," he ordered Gaara.

Gaara glared.

**(Later that night)**

Shizuka sat up against alarge, old tree, hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes were half-closed; she wanted to go to sleep, but couldn't.

The memories were getting to be too much.

**Flashback**

_"Do you think it's safe, bringing her in, though?" Kidoumaru asked, frowning, looking at Shizuka, who glared back. "I mean, how're they going to react when they have someone talking in their heads? They're not used to it."_

_"He's got a point..." Tayuya looked at Shizuka, as well._

_**You guys are not leaving me behind.** She crossed her arms, glaring at them._

**End Flashback**

**Flashback**

_"Just don't talk, and learn sign-language, ok?" Sakkon tossed her a small hand book. "Here's a book about it; read the book, love the book, ok, are we set?"_

**End Flashback**

**Flashback**

_"Welcome!" called the man behind the bar, greeting them with a grin. "What'll it be?"_

_"I want pork ramen," Jiroubou answered, sitting down on one of the stools. _

_"I'll have chicken," Kidoumaru said, sitting down, as well._

_"I'll have a pork, too," Tayuya said tiredly, sitting down in the corner, a little ways away from her companions, utterly annoyed by their presence now._

_"I'll have a beef, and Shizuka-sama..." Sakkon looked down at his charge, who was still reading the book, holding it with one hand while practicing the signs with the other, muttering words silently while she formed them with her hand. "And a shrimp," he said finally to the old man, sitting himself down and pushing Shizuka into a chair._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_Shizuka waited until Sakkon was out of earshot, then turned to Kabuto. **Where are they?**_

_"Oh, no." Kabuto shook his head. "You're not going to earsdrop on them. This is a secret mission."_

_Shizuka gave him a long look. **Ma.**_

_"No."_

_**Look at me, Ma.**_

_"No."_

_**Ma!**_

_"I know what you're planning, Shizuka-sama, and I'm not falling for it!"_

_Shizuka moved so she was in his line of vision. **Come on, Ma, you know you can't resist the face.**_

_"They're in his laboratory," Kabuto said with a long-suffering sigh._

_Shizuka smiled. **Thank you, Ma**. She skipped away down the hall._

**End Flashback**

**Flashback**

_**Ma, you forgot to feed Kimimaru**, Shizuka said rebukingly, ignoring Sakkon.** It's almost ten o'clock and he's hungry. **(She makes Kimi sound like some sort of animal... like a lizard...)_

_"Ack!" Kabuto clapped a hand over his eyes. "I forgot!"_

_**I just said that.**_

_"I know." Kabuto stood up. "Sorry, Sakkon, I'll finish tomorrow."_

_Sakkon nodded. "Ok, thanks Kabuto-san."_

_Shizuka stepped aside to let Kabuto pass, giving him a definate attempt at tripping him up as he walked by. When he turned to look at her, she simply looked back, unblinkingly._

_"Ok, I'm sorry, it won't happened again," he said apologeticaly, walking quickly down the hall to the hospital wing._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_**Damn straight.** Shizuka came out of her room and made a sorry attempt at a scary face. **Fear me!**_

_"Maybe later." Kidoumaru opened the last door and the only room unclaimed. "Dammit! Figures I would have the smallest room!"_

_"Stop being king of the Land of the High and Mighty," Sakkon snapped. "We're only here for a week, so get over yourself."_

_"Says the guy who got the second biggest room," Tayuya said out of the corner of her mouth._

_"...Shut up."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_"Dammit, Shizuka-sama!" he shouted angrily, gripping his blanket. "You can't help me because you don't get it that you're the one who keeps hurting me!"_

_Shizuka starred. **What're you--**_

_"Can't you see?!" he cried, slamming a fist into the depths of the covers. "Don't you get it?! I love you!" _

**End flashback**

Shizuka clenched her eyes shut. _Dammit, go away! I don't care about that anymore! I... _She sniffed slightly. _I don't... _She buried her head in her knees. _I don't care! _she shouted to herself, trying to repress the fresh bout of tears she felt trickling down her cheeks.

"Maybe if you talked about it, you'd feel better?"

She lifted her head. Itachi gave her a small smile.

**Flashback**

_"Don't you get it?! I love you!"_

**End flashback**

**_Oh, no... Not to you._** She shook her head, clenching her hands around her knees.

"Why not?"

**_Just... because._** She shook her head. **_I can't._**

"I think you can," he stated stubbornly. "You just won't."

**_That's probably it. _**She nodded.

"Well, I'm saying you have to."

_**I'm saying I don't.**_

"I'm saying you do. What I say goes."

**_Since when?_** She gave him a look.

"Since I was a foot taller then you and twice as stronge, koibito." He smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes. **_'Koibito' isn't going to work on me every time, you know. Sooner or later, I'll be immune to it._**

"Well, till then, I'll use it as I wish." He moved to sit next to her, putting an arm around her waist. "Now tell me what's wrong."

_**No.**_

"Why?"

_**I just don't want to...**_

"I think you do, you just don't want to know my reaction." He smirked.

She closed her eyes and sighed. **_Stop reading my mind. That's my job._**

He grinned. "I don't care. And I won't 'react' in that, I'll do anything drastic and overly dramatic. So just tell me. Who were the 'Four'?"

_**Five.**_

"What?"

**_There were five,_** she corrected. **_Kimimaro, Sakkon, Kidoumaru, Tayuya, and Jiroubou_**.

"Oh. Who were they?"

**_Kimimaro was going to be Orochimaru's new containor, because of his Kekkai Genkai _**(A/N: Blood Limitation). **_But then, he got sick. When I left, he had about a month left to live. He was... _**She paused, swallowing.

**Flashback**

_Kimimaro smiled. "Shizuka-sama!"_

**End flashback**

_**...Probably my best friend. I always went to him for advice, even when he was in the hospital ward.**_

**Flashback**

_"Hello, Shizuka-sama. Will you sit down?" One of the arms, stuck with tubes, gestured to a chair by his bed._

_She sat accordingly. **How are you feeling?**_

_"No better then I was last week, when you last visited me."_

_**It was that long ago? **she asked guiltily._

**End flashback**

"...Oh." Itachi said finally, after a few moments of silence. "What about the other ones?"

**_Kidoumaru was... kind of annoying,_** she said with a small smile.**_ He didn't like me. I didn't like him. The only time we got along was over food._**

**Flashback**

_"Mine's better!" Kidoumaru stated boldly, stirring the stir-fry in his pan with a spatula, while using his otehr arms to add various ingredients._

_Shizuka glared, scraping at the burnt sing in her own frying pan. _**Shut up.**

**End flashback**

**_And that was only sometimes, mind._** She smiled a little at the memories. **_Kidoumaru had arguments with everyone, and hardly ever got along with anyone, but he was really smart, and a good fighter. A little strange, obviously... but a good fighter. And a good guy, I guess._**

**Flashback**

_"Shizuka-sama, for the love of all that is abnormal," Kidoumaru shouted from where he was perched in a nearby tree. "Let's just go back! We can come back tomorrow!"_

**End flashback**

Itachi nodded, not sure if he was supposed to say anything yet.

_**Jiroubou was a pretty nice guy. A fat guy. But a nice guy. He liked to pretend he was the peacemaker.**_

**Flashback**

_"I call winner," Tayuya announced as the two engaged in another attack._

_"I already called it," Kidoumaru announced. "You came too late."_

_"Too fuckin' bad for you, spider-brain, I call winner," Tayuya snapped._

_"Tayuya," Jiroubou began, but she hit him across the head._

_"Shut the hell up, fatass," she snapped._

**End flashback**

_**Well... he tried. None of us took him seriously, since he was the weakest one. Especially Tayuya.**_

"Who was he?"

_**She was fourth. And would probably hand you your entrails if you called her a guy. No one really messed with her, but it was pretty fun, picking on her, since she got so angry so easily.**_

**Flashback**

_"Oh, like, hearing a girl's voice coming from a guy isn't going to freak them out?" Kidoumaru scoffed._

_"Just because you pissed your pants when they first used it doesn't mean the villagers won't," Tayuya snapped. _

**End flashback**

"Sounds fun," Itachi said.

**_It was... sometimes._** Shizuka grinned. **_She wasn't always like that, of course... Kidoumaru said she used to be really nice and friendly. I guess he would know; they've been best friends for a long time. So, one day, I wrote her a note, asking her what was up._**

"And?"

_**She told me. And told me. And told me. And told me. And told me. So, finally, I knew it had to stop.**_

**Flashback**

_KICK!_

**End flashback**

_**And it did, and she's been a bitch ever since.**_

"So... You and Kimimaro, best friends. Tayuya and Kidoumaru, best friends (Didn't see that coming). What about the other guy?"

**_Oh, yeah..._** She smiled weakly.**_ Sakkon_**.

**Flashback**

_Shizuka turned to look back at Sakkon._

_"What's up?" he asked, pulling on his white tunic._

_**What's the mission?**_

_"What mission?" he asked innocently._

_**Don't play dumb with me, I know there's a mission, so what is it?**_

_"There's no mission."_

_**Ma said Orochi-daddy had a mission for you guys, and I want to know what it is!**_

_"Well, Kabuto-san lied, there is no mission." Sakkon laid back on his bed and picked up BLEACH. "It's late," he added, finding his place in the book. "Go to bed."_

_**Don't tell me what to do, **she snapped**. What's the mission?**_

_"There's no mission," he said automatically, turning the page._

_Shizuka frowned and went up to his bed, hitting him across the head._

_"Ow! What the hell, Shizuka-sama!"_

_**Tell me what the mission is!**_

_"No! There is no mission!"_

_TWHACK!_

_**Tell me!**_

_"I can't tell you about a mission that doesn't even exist!"_

_**Yes you can!**_

_"How?!"_

_**Where are you going?! You can tell me that much, can't you?**_

_"You'd follow us!"_

_**Already planning to, so it won't make any difference. Just tell me and spare yoursef the pain.**_

_"Nay."_

_**I'll sit on you.**_

_"You would not."_

_**Yes, I would. **She did so._

_"I'm not telling you anything." He went back to reading BLEACH. "You're awful light, so you sitting on me doesn't have the same threat as if Jiroubou was."_

**End flashback**

_**Sakkon was.... an interesting character.**_

**Flashback**

_"Come on, now, you can't come with us." He set her down, pointing her towards the head quarters. "Go home."_

_**No,** came the defiant answer (think "two year old" and you've got her general tone). Shizuka crossed her arms, planting her feet firmly on the ground._

_"Excuse me?" Sakkon raised an eyebrow._

_"Come on, double shithead, we're wasting time," Kidoumaru protested._

_"This'll only take a second," Sakkon said, annoyed at the familiar insult._

_**What will only take a second?** Shizuka asked with a hint of fear._

_"Upsy daisy." Sakkon picked her up around her waist and slung her over his shoulder, walking back where he came from, towards the head quarters._

_Shizuka's eyes widened. **PUT ME DOWN!**_

_"No," he said, mocking her slightly._

_**PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW OR I'LL TELL OROCHI-DADDY! **She beat on his back with her fists._

_She was promptly dropped on her butt in the middle of the pathway._

_"Ok." Sakkon turned. "Oi, Kidoumaru! You can carry her!" He started back to where the other three were waiting impatiently._

_Shizuka's mix-matched eyes widened as Kidoumaru started towards her, grinning. **NOOO! PICK ME UP, PICK ME UP, PICK ME UP, PICK ME UP!** she yelped, leaping on Sakkon and clinging to his head. _

**End flashback**

_**He's been my bodyguard for as long as I can remember. We had an... interesting relationship.**_

"I'll say," Itachi said under his breath, remembering Shizuka's dream.

**_What'd you say?_** She glanced up at him.

"Nothing. Continue."

**_Actually... _**She looked uncomfortable. **_Sakkon was why I didn't want to tell you..._**

"Why not?" he asked, even though he had a good idea on the answer.

**_Uh..._** She cleared her throat, even though it was useless. **_Well... He was... hmm..._**

"Just tell me," he ordered.

_**Well... before I left Konoha... he told me he loved me...**_

Well, _that_ wasn't what he'd expected... exactly. ".....Oh."

_**'Oh'?**_

"Well, I figured."

She starred. **_No, you didn't!_**

"Yes, I did."

_**How?! Not even I noticed!**_

"Well, you're stupid. No guy would put up with the stuff you just described unless he was in love. It's a fact." He shrugged.

She starred up at him.**_ Oh, really?_**

"Really."

She smirked evilly. **_Do you love me, Itachi-kun?_**

**_Do you? _**She looked him in the eye.

Shrug. He looked away.

She raised an eyebrow, then smirked.**_ You're blushing, Itachi-kun._**

"No, I'm not."

_**Are, too.**_

"Am, not."

_**Are, too.**_

"Am, not."

_**Are, too.**_

"Are you, like, four years old?" He rolled his eyes.

She smiled, resting up to peck his cheek.

"So?"

_**So, what?**_

He looked at her expectantly. "What exactly went on with you two?"

_**Who? Me and Sakkon?**_

He nodded bluntly.

She starred at him blankly. _Oh... I see. _She smirked. **_Well... He was a good kisser._**

Itachi's mouth sagged in shock (you know the look... just not on him).

**_And the sex was great! _**Her smirk widened and grew into a malicious, Naruto's-plotting-something-face.

His jaw dropped. "What?!"

**_I'm kidding!_** she reassured him, pushing his jaw up again. **_I wouldn't have sex with Sakkon! He was like my big brother!_**

"That must've been some friendly big brother." Itachi scoffed. "And a nice, friendly squirrel, too." He gave her a look.

Shizuka gulped. **_How--How'd you--_**

"I'm not that stupid. 'Squirrel bit me'? Please." He pulled sharply on one of her ankles, so she was laying flat on her back, and moved to lay over her, smirking. "Like I said before, any more 'squirrels' come near you again, I'll kill 'em. Understand?"

She nodded as he decended on her neck, his teeth grazing her skin just above Sakkon's 'mark.' She felt him unbutton her Atatsuki cloak and she pulled her arms out, so she was free of it, as he ran his hands under her shirt, up her sides, pushing the garment up slightly. Her eyes widened. But--Itachi, it's dirty out here...!

"That's why I'm laying the robe out, baka," he muttered against her neck. "So just shut up, ok."

* * *

(fox face) Hee hee hee hee...

Happy birthday, Watch-Da-Rain! (It's not really yer birthday, but...) You asked for some R-rated stuff... and while I can't go into graphic details since my youner siblings might use this comp... the next chapter may be my very first attempt at writing a sex scene.

I've written them for Kankurou/Kyu and Gaara/Rynn, obviously... but I've never actually put them in the chapter... Let me know if I should change the rating to R (I know some people have parental controls and I don't want to prevent them from reading it!) I won't change it if the scene is subtle enough.

Kyuubi: I doubt it. Subtle is not in your vocabulary.

Shut up.


	21. Koi O Shiteiru

**Apprentice**

..You perverts only reviewed because you wanted the sex...

I actually STUDIED for this chapter! Gasp! I asked my mom, the doctor, and looked through atatomy books, so I know my information is correct (you'll see why, soon)!! I'm so proud of myself!!

Lately, I've been getting alot of pictures of Itachi, for reference to outfits, hair, etc. I have a couple picture folders in my comp, and they're all Naruto. It's catergorized as follows:

**Collage **(I made a collage for Sasuke... he's a jerk)

**Created Characters **(consists of altered pictures of Rei, Shizuka, Kyu and Yoshi)

**Itachi **(Guess; 78 files, last time I checked)

**Other **(Consists of random Orochi pics, Kimimaro, and any other pics I happen to have come across)

**Sakkon **(Sakkon pics; 15 files)

**Innocent Woodland Creature Illustration**

No prizes for guessing where my priorites lie.

(smile) People liked my choice of flashbacks! I so glad! It took me a while to find them, though... I wanted to get some of each of the Four (or Five) doing something with Shizuka, but I snuck in one of Kabuto just because he and Orochimaru were also really close to her (despite it all) and... yeah. But I wanted to pick ones that would matter to her; like I said, she's a lot like me, attitude/personality-wise, so I picked ones that would matter to me if I were in her shoes. I'm glad you guys liked them!

BTW... People who are commenting on Itachi's OOCness... please read the last chapter's note.

Lately, people have been leaving nice, long, PARAGRAPH (o.O) reviews. WHEEEE! ME SO HAPPY! You guys go into, like, exquisite detail about what you do and don't like, or what you think would happen, or what you thought was funny.

The reason I'm updating so fast is because I'm home sick with a cough that would wake the dead. I've been home from school for the past three days with nothing to do but do my laundry, take my medicine (which I only just got today) and write ficcies. (hack, cough, hack) Ow. I also read manga while sick in bed. I have a whole bunch of Shaman King, Naruto, Ceres, Fushushi Yugi and Ranma ½ all around my bed... it's a disaster! I get a lot of my love-scene-material-inpsiration from Ceres, though. It's a good manga. Nice little love-scenes.

I'm so glad people like this ficcie!! I didn't think it'd be that popular, since my summaries suck, but... well, dang, dudes. I got almost 150 reviews! O.o I am not worthy...

P.S.: To those who had asked me to check out their stories... I did look at a lot of them, and I read a few here and there, but, lately, I've been trying to "shed my influences," so to speak. I don't want to copy other author(ess)s jokes and punch lines and stuff. So please, unless you want me to sort of paraphrase your jokes... don't ask me to read them. (But I probably will read them, without knowing it, if I go on searches...)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: Koi O Shiteiru**

**Shizuka's P.O.V.**

It's dark... I can't see very well...

But I can feel. I can feel him. I can feel his hand in mine, holding it tight. I can feel our robes beneath me, soaked in sweat.

He whispers something in my ear... I can't really hear it, but it sounds like an apology... Apology for what?

Slowly, I understand, as a stabbing pain I hadn't noticed before increases. I gasp quietly, and feel small tears leak out of the corners of my eyes. It hurts so bad...

He kisses my eyes, cheeks, lips and forehead, apologizing and promising... promising what, I'm not sure.

Arms lay on either side of my head, supporting him, so as not to crush me. Pain slowly ebbed away, leaving exquisite pleasure in its wash. Rhythmic movement. I can feel myself rise to meet him in tandem.

Delicate tension rose. It threatened to take over. I can feel him smiling at me, even through the darkness. He whispers in my ear...

"Soon... So close..."

He moves harder. Hastier. I can't help but revel in the sensation. My mind is swirling. Only the sensation exists. Only the man above me matters.

Harsh breathing echoed around my ears. I can feel it; we're balanced on a fine line. I clutch his shoulders. He only sped up his movements. My eyes widen. He kisses me, quickly and firmly, drowning out my silent scream.

Euphoria.

**End Shizuka's P.O.V.**

**Itachi's P.O.V.**

I had collapsed on top of her, totally spent, drawing shaky breaths as I feel my heartbeat calm. She kisses my neck softly, her lashes caressing my skin.

I smile slightly and gather her in my arms again, rolling over so she was laying on top of me. The need to protect returns.

She squirms a little, pulling on my chin until I look down at her. Amusement and satisfaction swirled in me. I found happiness and completion in her.

Her lips form a word: Wow.

To tired to even focus chakra in order to speak?

"Mm…" I agree. Suddenly, I let out a jaw-cracking yawn, letting my tiredness catch up to me. She yawns, as well. "Aw...tired already?"

She stuck her tongue out at me, then rested her head on my shoulder, closing her eyes.

"Mm." I gather her closer to me and bury my nose in her hair; she smells like... well... me.

Interesting...

**End Itachi's P.O.V.**

Shizuka could feel the tendrils of sleep caressing her mind. **_Itachi...? _**she whispered, finally rested enough to gather chakra.

"Mm...?"

_**Is that all you can say? **_

"Mm-hmm..."

_**You know what?**_

"Rwha...?" His speech was beginning to slur.

_**...I love you, too.**_

His eyes flew open. She pulled away from him slightly to await his response in amusement. Slowly, he smiled. A gentle, satisfied smile. He pulled her to him again and held her tight.

"Mrwah..." he muffled against her hair.

**(Meanwhile...)**

Kisame and Gaara looked at each other over the campfire. They, of course, knew what was going on. They weren't stupid. They'd known what was going to happen as soon as Shizuka left the campfire half an hour ago by herself, with Itachi following her a few minutes later.

"Well, isn't this interesting," Kisame said finally, grinning. "Your partner likes my partner and my partner won't have anything to do with me anymore and both our partners think no one notices."

"That _is_ interesting," Gaara agreed, crossing his arms.

Kisame rolled his eyes. He'd gotten Gaara to talk a few days ago, and, since then, had gotten two- to three-word responses every once and a while. It wasn't much, but it was a start. To his knowledge, Kisame was the only one Gaara would willingly (he thought) talk to, besides Shizuka. Gaara and the rest of the Atatsuki ignored each other. Gaara and Itachi dealt with each other. Kisame had thought Gaara was jealous of Itachi's relationship with Shizuka, but when he boldly voiced this (praying for his life), Gaara had actually laughed. Laughed till he was blue in the face.

That answered _that._

"How long do you think they'll be out there?" Kisame asked, stoking the fire around the rabbits they were cooking for dinner.

"'Till they wake up."

_Wow, four word-response. Must be a record._

_**Hey, guys. Sorry we're late. Is the food ready?**_

Kisame and Gaara turned. Shizuka and Itachi stepped into the firelight, looking distinctly tired and mussed-up, but otherwise, they looked the same as they had when they left.

"No, it's fine." Kisame smirked as they sat down on the fallen logs they were using as seats. He leaned over and nudged Itachi a little. "You dog!" he whispered, so only he could hear.

Itachi looked at him oddly. "I beg your pardon?"

Kisame rolled his eyes. "Forget it." He glanced over at where Shizuka and Gaara were arguing. Over food, of all things. Well... it seemed like they were arguing; Shizuka glared at Gaara, and Gaara spoke randomly in response to unheard questions. Then, she tackled him and they rolled out of sight, biting and kicking, sand flying.

_Yes. Definitely arguing._

But the kind of arguing Kisame would expect from children, not Atatsuki members, and certainly not from fourteen/fifteen-year-olds.

_...They were fourteen/fifteen-year-olds, right? I mean, if height told truth, they were about ten years old. _Kisame glanced at Gaara's height of a mere five feet, three inches, and Shizuka's height of just over five feet.

"Stop it," Itachi ordered, taking out a scroll. "We have to write our letter to the Hokage."

**_What letter?_** Shizuka asked, her head popping up from behind the log.

"The letter that will let us have unquestioned access to Konoha without starting a riot," Itachi answered, taking out a pen, as well.

"I thought Kosuhdai-san sent it," Kisame said, frowning.

"He sent the initial warning," Itachi answered, writing something in the scroll. "It's our job to send the conditions."

"...Oh..." The three looked at each other, still confused. Itachi didn't see it, however, as he scribbled away in the scroll.

After a few minutes, he held out the finished work to them. "Here, read it and see if you agree. Not that it makes a difference."

Kisame took it, and Gaara and Shizuka crowded over his shoulder.

"Ah. Doodling." Gaara smirked.

Itachi glared. "Just read it."

_To the current Hokage of Konohagakure_

_Here are the conditions the Atatsuki presents to you upon our arrival_

_1. There will be no attacks, from either side. Our members will not attack your villagers, and vise verse._

_2. ANBU guards of your choice, for our security as much as yours_

_3. No questions beyond what is necessary_

_4. Cooperation from all concerned_

_This visit is not an attack, and will hopefully be a peaceful one. Below are lists of the Atatsuki members who will be arriving._

_Hoshigaki Kisame_

_Uchiha Itachi_

_Sabuku No Gaara_

_Hakai-teki no Shizuka_

_We will be arriving on the 5th of this month to discuss the purpose of this mission. Please be prepared however you please._

Kisame, Gaara and Shizuka glanced up at Itachi. "This is the cheesiest thing I've ever read," Kisame stated.

Twitch. "Shut up."

**_Are you sure they'll be able to read your handwriting? I mean..._** Shizuka looked optimistic.

Twitch-twitch. "Shut up."

"We should charge him for every time he says 'shut up,'" Kisame contemplated. "He's been saying it at an alarming frequency."

**_Yeah. 500 yen, please. _**Shizuka held out her hand expectantly.

Itachi glared. "Sh--Cease to speak," he caught himself.

**(On the 5th of the Month)**

Tsunade starred at the scroll before her, reading it over again, then looked back up at the cloaked Atatsuki members. She sighed; life was just getting more and more complicated since she'd become Hokage. She had a distinct feeling that all the Konoha residents had just been waiting for their problems to build up over the years, and were just now bringing them forward. She rubbed her temples as if they pained her. And now she had to deal with the Atatsuki, too...

"Ok, fine," she said after a few moments of thought. "What do you want?"

"Tsunade-sama," Itachi began, "we understand you have some knowledge of healing."

_Some?!_ "That's correct."

Itachi stepped back so she could see the girl standing behind him. "Then we'd like you to examine this one, please." (Kenshin!)

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. The girl looked healthy enough, why would they need her to examine her? She voiced this.

"She's been mute since birth, and has been speaking with voice jutsus for the past year," Itachi answered. "And, according to her file," he held up a folder, "it's fixable, with the right knowledge and equipment." He handed the file to her.

Tsunade took it and examined it with a frown.

**Name: **_Shizuka_

**Age: **_14_

**D.O.B.: **_Jan. 24, 1989_

**Height: **_5'_

**Weight: **_None of your business_

**Blood-type: **_O_

**Parents:**_ Mother: N/A, Father: Orochimaru_

"...Whoa!" Tsunade did a double-take, rereading the stats. "Orochimaru is your _father_?!"

Shizuka glared. **_Yes._**

"...!" _I'm gonna have to get used to that voice... _Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples again. "So, let me get this straight. You're mute."

_**Yes.**_

"Why?"

_**Kabuto said my vocal chords hadn't developed completely.**_

"Did he ever examine you himself?"

_**Yes.**_

"How many times?"

_**Once a month, and once before we created a new voice jutsu.**_

_It's like talking to a business partner..._ "What kind of voice jutsus did he use?"

_**Kangae Gimu-teki No Jutsu and this one.**_

"Obake Koe No Jutsu," Itachi supplied. (A/N: This Jutsu translates to _Ghost-Voice_)

Tsunade frowned. "Come here, Shizuka, was it?" She beckoned the girl closer.

Shizuka moved to stand next to the Hokage at her desk; Tsunade reached out and touched Shizuka in various places along her neck. Tsunade raised an eyebrow when she came to several small marks along the flesh. _Bite marks...? Huh. _She frowned. "What's this?" She touched a small, thin scar on Shizuka's neck, barely noticeable.

**_I don't know. I've had it for forever, _**Shizuka answered, shrugging.

"Hmm..." Tsunade sighed, dropping her hands. "I have something to tell you, Shizuka," she said quietly. "Your vocal cords aren't only under-developed. They've been severed."

Shizuka's eyes widened. **_What the hell are you talking about?_**

"These voice jutsus you've been using were obviously designed especially for you, and your needs," Tsunade explained. "However, every time you got a new design, your chances of your vocal chords ever developing on their own decreased."

**_So... you're saying that if I'd just left them alone, they would work? _**Shizuka starred, wide-eyed.

"Maybe not. It's an interesting case. There's a high chance they might have, a little." Tsunade sighed. "The problem with your chords, in particular, is that the membrane around your cricoid is too thick. Normally, this membrane is thinner, allowing vibration. Yours doesn't allow this. So, to be honest, I'd say your vocal cords were over-developed. Eventually, if they had been left alone and you continually tried to use them, this moving your cricoid, the membrane would have thinned out, thus allowing voice. However, your vocal cords have been cut completely, and there's nothing I can do about that."

"_What_?!" Kisame shouted, slamming his _samahada _down on the floor. "We came to you because you're supposed to be the best!"

"I _am_ the best," Tsunade said coldly. "You interrupted me. There's nothing about the sever that I can do, but I can replace them."

"Replace? How?" Kisame frowned.

"Through surgery. It's a matter of removing her vocal cords entirely and replacing them with properly-functioning ones." Tsunade entwined her fingers and rested her chin on them.

"Then do the surgery!" Kisame ordered.

"I could," she said with a shrug. "But I should warn you. This surgery is very complicated. It involves, first, making very careful and large incisions along the side of her throat, here." She gestures in long lines down Shizuka's throat. "Then removing the vocal cords, which are, by the way, her only source of breathing, and replacing them. The surgery itself, for me, is nothing. But if Shizuka's body rejects the new, foreign organs, it would unconsciously destroy them, and kill her."

**(Five Minutes Later)**

"Come again?" Kisame said, finally breaking the silence.

"There's a 10-percent chance she could die after the surgery was completed, regardless of how well it was done," Tsunade answered. "However..." She smiled. "Since the percentage is that low, I'm willing to do it, if you are."

_**...Have you ever done this before?**_ Shizuka asked suspiciously.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Yes. Several times. I haven't had a failed surgery once, and no one has ever died."

"..." The four Atatsuki members looked at each other.

"I'll give you some time to think it over." Tsunade begrudgingly went back to her paperwork. "Some ANBU guards will show you to your living quarters. Oh, and, Gaara?"

Gaara turned as he was walking out.

"Be sure and find Naruto before you leave. He's been wondering if you'd come back." Tsunade smiled.

Gaara smirked.

**(Later, in Itachi's room)**

"I think we should risk it."

"What about the other 10 percent, though?"

"She said she's never messed up before."

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

"Even so, I still think we should risk it. She seems confident."

_**Who is going under the knife, here?!** _Shizuka snapped, shutting Gaara and Kisame up. _**I'll decide if I want to die, or not, thanks!**_

Gaara and Kisame looked at each other. Shizuka had been rather testy since their arrival in Konoha. 'On edge' was a better term, but they didn't feel it suited her.

Gaara shrugged, standing up. "I have to go find Uzumaki. I'll be back tonight. Maybe. Don't go into surgery without me."

"Huh?" Kisame looked up at him.

Kick. Gaara nodded discreetly in Itachi and Shizuka's direction.

"Oh--oh, yeah, I've got this thing and it needs to be done cuz it's a thing." Kisame stood up, following Gaara out the door.

Itachi and Shizuka looked at each other.

_**They know.**_

"Hm."

_**Wonder how they found out.**_ (How, indeed? -rolls eyes-)

"Hm."

_**Have you gone back to one-word/no-word responses again?**_ she snapped, tugging gently on his hair.

"Mm-hmm."

She rolled her eyes, pulling on the neck of his cloak slightly. _**Com'ere...**_

"Mm." He moved so his head was in her lap, closing his eyes tiredly, folding his hands on his stomach, looking ready to go to sleep.

She smiled slightly, unbuttoning his Atatsuki cloak and pulling him out of it, replacing his head on her lap. She ran her hands under his shirt, feeling over his chest and stomach; his build was changing, ever-so-slightly; he was still made like a boy, but was starting to become a man. Shizuka smiled. It was so cute!

"You only want me for my body," he mumbled tiredly.

Shizuka paused, then smiled. _**Maybe.**_

"Bitch."

_**Slut.**_

"Whore."

_**Man-whore.**_

"Why, thank you."

_**So long as you're my man-whore.**_

"I knew you only wanted my body."

_**Yeah, that's right.** _She leaned down and kissed him gently.

"Meh." He pulled her head down, deepening the kiss while he snuck his hand in her robe and up her shirt.

**_You do love me, don't you, Itachi?_ **she asked optimistically.

"I'm sleeping with you, aren't I?"

_**Well, that doesn't mean anything!**_ she retorted, pulling his hand out of her shirt.

He opened his eyes, starring up at her. "Are you saying this doesn't mean anything to me?" he asked, almost angrily.

_**Well--**_

"It does," he retorted, sitting up. "If it didn't, I wouldn't do it."

_**Do what?**_

"Us. You. This." He gestured to the room, and the village, in general. "Look." He turned back to her. "Bottom line is, I can't help myself. I know that sounds perverted, but you--I--we--Gah." He rubbed his forehead. "See what I mean?"

She shook her head.

"..." He sighed. "I don't... like discussing my emotions," he said finally.

**_How come I have to discuss mine, then_? **she asked angrily.

"Because yours are more important," he answered. "But I do love you," he reassured her. "And I always will." He leaned over to kiss her forehead

_**Really? **_she asked stubbornly.

"Really, really." He pulled her to sit on his lap, his arms around her waist, kissing her. He kissed her lips, cheeks, and eyes, pulling off her Atatsuki cloak and tossing it aside. He felt her arms go around his neck, her fingers entwining with his hair. He kissed her again where her shoulder met with her neck, then slowly kissed his way down her collarbone to press his lips in the hollow of her throat. He felt her hands work their way between them to work his shirt up his chest. He broke away from her quickly and raised his arms, allowed her to pull his shirt up over his head before he kissed her again, this time more passionately, his hands trailing down her back, pressing her against him. All he wanted right now was to be close to her, to feel her skin against his, to be one with her in this one thing, and he knew she was willing to grant that wish.

**(Meanwhile)**

Tsunade smiled, watching the two lovers in her crystal ball._ Now that is cuter then a shaved monkey with no tail, _she thought, passing her hand over the glass again as the image disappeared. Even _she_ wasn't that perverted.

**(The Next Morning)**

Itachi suppressed a yawn; he wondered again what he was doing here. Tsunade had sent a messenger saying that the Hokage wished to 'speak to him.' _Whatever _that _meant_. Personally, he would much rather be back in his room, in his bed, under the covers with a particular Ex-Oto-Nin next to him. But it wasn't to be, for the Godaime obviously hated him. Oh, yes, and there was always the two ANBU who followed him everywhere.

"Hello, Itachi," Tsunade said pleasantly. "Coffee?" She gestured to the tray on her desk next to her, on which were two mugs and a pot of coffee.

He stared at her.

"Alright, then." She poured herself a cup and sipped it carefully. "I understand you have some sort of relationship with Shizuka?"

"Ye--No. Ahem. No."

She gave him a look.

"..." He shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe a bit."

Yeah, right. She rolled her eyes. "That's why I figured this would concern you."

"What would?" He woke up a little.

"Well, I think it's pretty obvious that someone doesn't want Shizuka to be able to speak."

"What makes you say that?"

"You remember when I said Shizuka's vocal cords had been severed?"

He nodded.

"And how the voice jutsus that were created for her were semi-self-destructive?"

He shook his head.

"Well, they are."

"That's not possible. I helped create those jutsus, and they were fool-proof," he retorted.

"Obviously not. Did you test them?"

"No."

"Well, there you go."

"Are you saying this is my fault?!"

"No. I'm saying it's either Orochimaru's fault, or Kabuto's fault. Can you explain how the voice jutsus were created?"

Itachi shook his head. "It was all written down on a scroll for her to study. I don't have a record of it. But I do know that it had to do with gathering chakra to the part of the brain that produces thoughts and channeling the thoughts to another person."

"It sounds complicated. And she's only been using this jutsu for a year or so?"

"She's used the current one for about four months. I'm not sure about the last one."

"My god..." Tsunade rubbed her temples again; it was becoming a habit. "She's skilled... to have mastered such a complicated jutsu in such a short amount of time."

"I've never seen the extent of her technique, but she told me she could use the summoning technique when she was ten. Apparently, she used the snakes for communication. Something about body-language. It's all in the file."

"Yes, but she's not perfect." Tsunade opened the file again. "She probably has massive amounts of chakra stored up somewhere, but she's never been trained to use it to it's full extent. I blame Orochimaru, for being too tender with her. She could be strong, but he won't let her."

Itachi nodded slightly. _Tender, my foot! _he thought angrily.

"It's best you didn't tell her about all of this, though," Tsunade added, closing the file. "I don't want her to be upset going into surgery. This whole thing is troubling enough for her, for now."

He nodded. "Can I go back to bed now?"

Tsunade smiled slightly. "Yes, you can go back to bed now."

Itachi stalked out of the room, followed by his ANBU. _Orochimaru, you asshole_, he thought angrily. _You just can't wait to ruin peoples' lives, can you?_

He left the ANBU at the door to his room (they weren't completely invading his privacy) and went over to his bed.

Shizuka stared up at him. **_Where did _you_ go?_**

"Tired much?" He rolled his eyes, taking off his cloak and crawling under the covers again. She immediately curled up against him. "Tsunade just wanted to ask about the operation."

_**You're not very good at lying, Itachi-kun.**_

"Yes, I am."

_**No, you're not.**_

"But I was telling the truth!"

_**No, you weren't.**_

"Yes, I was."

_**Nuh-uh.**_

He rolled his eyes; if Counter-Attack, by four y/o's was correct, he knew what he had to say. No way in hell was he going to, though. "Yes, I was."

_**Nuh-uh!**_

"Yes, I was."

_**Nuh-uh!**_

"Yes, I was."

_**Nuh-uh!**_

"Yes, I was."

_**Nuh-uh!**_

"Yes, I was."

_**Nuh-uh!**_

"Yuh-huh!"

Shizuka grinned.

Itachi: o.o "Damn!"


	22. Reminiscing

**Apprentice**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-One: Reminiscing**

Uchiha Itachi had a problem.

A very large problem.

One he could do nothing about.

If you just got here, you probably don't know what's going on. Here's what happened.

Orochimaru bred himself a daughter who can't speak because the outer membrane of her vocal chords is too thick, so her vocal chords can't vibrate. She ran away to Sunaga, and later, joined the Atatsuki, and Itachi fell in love with her. (Seriously) So, they went to Konoha with Kisame and Gaara (Shizuka's partner) to ask Tsunade to fix Shizuka's vocal cords. Turns out, an entire operation was needed, and Shizuka needed a cord-transplant. The surgery has a 10-percent chance of failure, but Tsunade was confident and Itachi trusted her (sort of) and Shizuka trusted Itachi. Today is the day of the surgery. (SNG catchs her breath)

The problem, you ask?

Itachi isn't allowed to come with her.

"What the hell do you mean, I can't go?"

_**What hell do you mean, he can't go?!**_

"Shizuka, I warned you not yo use your voice jutsus, they might complicate things," Tsunade said in a long-suffering voice.

Shizuka lay back down on her stretcher, glaring at the cieling.

"As for you..." Tsunade turned back to Itachi, "this procedure is complicated as it is, and only the greatest skilled medical nins in Konoha (plus Sakura, my subordinate) are allowed in the room. We don't need an extra body, or a critical eye." Tsunade turned to the door to the room where the surgery was being performed. "You can go in the waiting room with Kisame. Gaara should be back shortly."

Itachi starred at the backs of the medical nins as they carried the stretcher into the room after Tsunade. Shizuka looked back at him once, then laid back down again; her face was a stone, but her eyes were full of both worry and aprehension. It was a strange look, and it bothered Itachi, almost to the point that he wanted to question her about it, but there were two problems with that plan: one, she couldn't use voice justus, and two, she was probably being put under gas at this very moment.

He would ask her later.

Itachi turned to look at his ANBU guards; he couldn't see their expressions, for the masks, but he could tell they were starring at him; they always did. The name Uchiha Itachi was a legend amoung the ANBU; because he had become an ANBU captain at 13, they looked upon him as some sort of god. It was pretty unnerving.

He shrugged it off and went to the waiting room, his ANBU guards close on his heels. The waiting room was simply decorated; a large room with large windows taking up one wall, and a row of chairs against the windows, with potted plants on either end. Kisame was sitting on the end of the row, looking thoughtful; he looked up when Itachi entered the room. "Ok?"

Itachi nodded.

"I meant to talk to you about her," Kisame ventured, when Itachi was silent.

"What if the surgery doesn't work, and she dies?" Kisame asked, bravely.

"She won't."

"I'm saying, what if she does? What're you going to do?"

"I mean... Think about it. What if she dies? What will you do? You're not going to commit suicide, are you?"

Itachi looked at him with an unreadable expression.

"I was afraid of that." Kisame groaned.

"I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it." Kisame ran a hand through his short, corse blue hair. "Itachi... You know nothing can happen with you guys."

"What?" Itachi asked, coldly (notice he gives up denying it).

"Well... I mean, think about it," Kisame continued. "You're eighteen, and legally an adult. She's fourteen."

"So?"

"So, she's still a kid!" Kisame answered, growing bolder. "That's illegal in some countries!" (SNG found out the hard way...)

"Well, then, it's a good thing we're not in 'some countries,' isn't it?"

"Plus, she acts like a kid, too! Did you see her wrestling with Gaara the other night?"

"Yeah."

"So?"

"So... what?"

"So, it's pretty obvious, you don't have a future with her!" Kisame snapped.

"Future?" Itachi scoffed. "Please, Kisame. We're shinobi, and S-classed, at that. I already know we don't have a future past what we have now."

"Then why are you doing it?!"

Itachi looked at him for a moment, then thought. For some reason... One particular memory stood out in his mind.

**Flashback**

_"Itachi-kun." His mother's smiling face gazed down at him. "Don't worry about the kids in your class. You don't have to think about them."_

_"But, Mommy...!" Itachi (4) whined, kicking out angrily. "None of the other kindergardeners know about the Shar-ing-koon. They all say I'm..." He took a deep breath, like a kid before he says his first cuss. "...weird!"_

_His mother looked at him oddly for a few minutes, then smiled, ruffling his hair. "You don't have to worry about being weird. One of these days, you're going to find someone who you can be yourself around, and they won't think you're weird. And when you do, do you know what you have to do?"_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_His lips were brushing slowly across hers; she could feel his cool breath on her cheek; his hands were at her shoulders... then her neck... then they cupped her face, bringing her closer to him. To her own surprise, she felt her arms go around his neck as she unconsciously deepened the kiss._

**End flashback**

_It was then..._ he thought to himself, all thought of Kisame forgotten for that moment. _Right then, when I kissed her for the first time... I wasn't sure what I was doing, but it felt... right._

"...totally irrespons--Itachi, are you listening?!" Kisame snapped, annoyed at being ignored. "Earth to Space Cadet Itachi!"

Itachi looked at him._ Damn him for ruining my memories!_

"I was saying," Kisame continued in an annoyed voice, "it's really selfish of you to keep at... this... just because you want a piece of ass, not to mention totally irresponsible."

"'A piece of ass'?" Itachi repeated, his eyes narrowing.

"Well, yeah." Kisame didn't see the look; his head was down, in his hand. "Gaara and I both know what you guys were doing last night... and that night in the way here, and probably a couple times before then, for all we know."

Itachi's eyes narrowed even more. "And your point?"

Kisame groaned a little, running both hands through his hair. "Look, man, like I said... she's still a kid. She probably took it seriously."

Itachi made a full-out glare this time. "And you're saying I didn't?"

Kisame looked up at him. "You expect me to believe that?" He scoffed. "Please. You're Itachi, and my partner, no less. I know you better then anyone. You don't care about shit."

Itachi's eyes widened for a split second.

**Flashback**

_"Nii-san!"_

_"Shut up, Sasuke." Itachi (8) climbed a level higher in the pine tree in their back yard._

_"But, Nii-san." Sasuke (3) whined, "Daddy's gonna yell at you!"_

_"I'm fine!" Itachi called reassuringly._

_"Ok."_

_Itachi started to swing his leg over the next branch, but suddenly frowned. _'Ok'? Since when did Sasuke, the nag of the century, say 'Ok' about anything? _He looked down._

_"Sasuke!"_

_Sasuke looked up from where he was clinging to the lowest branch Koala-style. "Don't worry, Nii-san! I'll catch up!" He waved._

_Itachi's eyes widened. "Sasuke! Don't let go!"_

_"Huh--WAAAH!" Sasuke lost his hold on the tree; the ground was at least five feet below him. "Nii-san!"_

_"Man..!" Itachi turned and jumped down, letting his weight carry him as he reached into his pocket, pulling out his ninja string. _Make it in time! _He grabbed one of the branches, letting a lasso of the string zip down, guided by chakra._

_"Boys!"_

_Itachi jumped slightly, but hung onto the string like his life depended on it. Sasuke looked down from where he was hanging upside-down, the string wrapped around his ankle. "Hi, Daddy!" he said cheerfully._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_**'Oh'? That's it? No 'Sorry for bruising you'?** She rolled her eyes, rubbing her wrist, which was, indeed, bruising a little._

_He gave her a sarcastic look. "Do you want me to kiss it and make it all better?"_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_"You don't need to worry."_

_**Huh..?**_

_"I didn't kill anyone."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_**Some of these missions of yours can get dangerous, and I don't want you to... **She sniffed, against her will._

_"Hey, don't cry on me, now."_

_**I'm not crying! **she shouted, even though her eyes felt hot. **I just...**_

_Itachi watched her for a few minutes while she fumbled for words, before he realized what she meant. _She doesn't want me to _die. He thought for a moment, then said, "I've often thought about that myself. I've wondered what would happen if I died on these missions, and then I wonder what people would think after I was gone. Probably something along the lines of 'good riddance' back at my home village. But," he finished, giving her the smallest of smiles, "I don;t think everyone would think 'good riddance,' so don't worry; I won't die."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_Itachi felt his back hit the wall; he heard Kisame shout; felt the trickle of blood running down the back of his neck from the cut he knew was now on the back of his head; still found himself unable to fight back._

**-Flashback-Within-A-Flashback-**

_**I can't trust people who I know have killed now... I don't know, it just makes me feel insecure, like I don't even know if they'd kill me.**_

**-End Flashback-Within-A-Flashback-**

_Itachi felt more and more blows raining down on him, and still, couldn't even bring himself to raise his Sharingan. _Damn, Shizuka, you better notice this...!

**End Flashback**

_Kisame's wrong,_ Itachi thought, shocking himself. _I do care... or did... about some things._ He glared down at his partner. "Shut up."

"Huh?" Kisame looked up again.

"I told you to shut up," Itachi said coldly. "You don't know about me. You don't know anything about me." He turned on his heel, going back out the way he'd come, to the hall. _Kisame's wrong... He's wrong... They're all wrong, _he thought angrily. _I do care. Why does everyone think it doesn't matter to me?!_

"Itachi-san..."

He turned. "What?" he snapped.

The ANBU behind him backed away. "Nevermind."

Itachi rolled his eyes and kept walking. He wasn't sure where he wanted this walk to have him end up, but he had energy to burn.

**Flashback**

_You've gotten weak. The old Itachi wouldn't care about something like that._

_If the old Itachi is someone she'd hate, I'm better off without him. I said she likes me for who and how I am now. That's all that matters._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_He opened his eyes, starring up at her. "Are you saying this doesn't mean anything to me?" he asked, almost angrily._

_**Well--**_

_"It does," he retorted, sitting up. "If it didn't, I wouldn't do it."_

_**Do what?**_

_"Us. You. This." He gestured to the room, and the village, in general. "Look." He turned back to her. "Bottom line is, I can't help myself. I know that sounds perverted, but you--I--we--Gah." He rubbed his forehead. "See what I mean?"_

_She shook her head._

_"..." He sighed. "I don't... like discussing my emotions," he said finally._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_He pulled her to sit on his lap, his arms around her waist, kissing her. He kissed her lips, cheeks, and eyes, pulling off her Atatsuki cloak and tossing it aside. He felt her arms go around his neck, her fingers entwining with his hair. He kissed her again where her shoulder met with her neck, then slowly kissed his way down her collarbone to press his lips in the hollow of her throat. He felt her hands work their way between them to work his shirt up his chest. He broke away from her quickly and raised his arms, allowed her to pull his shirt up over his head before he kissed her again, this time more passionately, his hands trailing down her back, pressing her against him. All he wanted right now was to be close to her, to feel her skin against his, to be one with her in this one thing, and he knew she was willing to grant that wish._

**End flashback**

Itachi smiled inwardly at the memory; he'd been right; she _was_ always willing to grant his wishes. He wanted her close to him; thus, she almost always was. He hadn't been sure if that was what he wanted, at first; at first, he tried to keep himself secluded, and not let up any weaknesses. But she'd always been sure.

**Flashback**

_Why am I walking down a dark path, hand-in-hand with this girl?_

_Oh, yes. I remember._

_Because every time I see her, I can't take my eyes off her because all I want to do is grab her and kiss her!_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_He sat down at a tree again and waited for her to follow; carrying her had it's limits. She knelt down in front of him and stroked his hair gently. He rubbed his cheek into her hand and pulled her closer. He kissed her deeply, and felt her relax against him almost instantly, like she always did. He put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her even closer. He liked knowing that only he could make her act like this; she was a total stuck-up bitch to Gaara and Kisame. He let up his Sharingen while his eyes were still closed, so that when they both opened their eyes, she could see his normal, black/grey eyes. He felt her hands go around his head and frowned slightly, then realized she was taking his forehead-protector off again._

_"You need to put that back before we go back."_

_She shrugged and put it to the side, sitting up to kiss his forehead. _

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_He felt her open up his Atatsuki robe, and almost protested, until he felt her move to sit with her back against his chest and button herself up with him. (Strangely enough, his robe was big enough). He smiled shamelessly, since she couldn't see, and slipped his arms out of his sleeves, putting them around her waist. She felt small and frail (even though she wasn't) when she was this close; he felt an uncontrollable urge to protect her forever, and make sure no "squirrels" came near her anymore._

**End flashback**

Of course... with so much physical contact came slight insecurity.

**Flashback**

_Her hands were cold, even though I'd been holding them just a minute ago, but strangely soothing. They worked out the knots in my back so gently, you'd never know she could be so violent like she was. I liked the feeling, but at the same time, I was a little nervous. I'd never classed myself under the "well-built" category of the male species, and hadn't even considered myself to be something females would want. So, it was kind of nerve-wracking, having myself so quickly exposed to her._

**End flashback**

_I never was self-conscious before I met her,_ he thought, confusing himself with his own thoughts._ Back when it was just Kisame and I, I didn't have to worry about physical appearences. I don't, now, but when I first met her, I did._

"S-Sasuke-kun?"

Itachi turned; a small, pink-haired girl was starring at him, wide-eyed. _Sasuke-_kun

"Sasuke-kun!" She suddenly dropped the white cloths she was holding and threw herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck. Itachi faltered, then pushed her back roughly.

"Do I know you?" he asked coldly.

Her eyes widened. "Not... Sasuke-kun?"

"No." _Damn, if that wasn't getting a bit old!_

"But, then, who--"

"Go away," he ordered. "You're annoying." He turned on his heel and started walking away; he paused in time to catch the cloth that was flying towards his head. He turned to look at her. "What?"

"Who are you?" she snapped angrily. "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

"Sasuke," he said slowly, "is somewhere in the Sound village."

"Then who are you?!"

"I'm Uchiha Itachi."

"Uchiha?" she repeated. She looked confused for a second or two, then her eyes widened. "You're--!"

"Yes."

"But, you!" She looked as if every single thing she knew in life was coming to a direct halt.

"Yes."

"What are you doing in Konoha?" she cried.

"That's none of your business," he said coldly.

"Hey!" She glared at him. "Don't you walk away from me!"

Itachi groaned inwardly. _Very... disturbingly familiar behavior. _He turned to look at her again. She was glared daggers. "What?"

"What are you doing in Konoha?!" she repeated. "You can't just walk around as you please!"

"I'm not." He nodded to the ANBU who were following him.

"Well, then--"

"Oi, Sakura-chan!"

Itachi and the girl both turned. Naruto was skip/walking down the hall with Gaara following a few paces back. He waved energetically. "Hi, Sakura-chan!"

Itachi glanced at the girl._ Sakura, huh?_

Naruto stopped short when he saw Itachi. "You're--"

"Yes." Dammit, he wasn't that interesting! Why couldn't they just leave him alone?!

Naruto's forehead crinkled in what looked like honest bewilderment. "I'm confused."

Gaara rolled his eyes. "I told you he was coming with us."

Naruto looked up for a few minutes, as if searching through his 'vast' stores of knowledge, before coming to the conclusion that Gaara had, indeed, told him that Itachi was coming to Konoha. "Oh, right." He paused, then frowned. "You're not gonna... like, capture me again, are you?"

Itachi glanced at Gaara, who gave a barely-noticable shrug, then closed his eyes. Capture Kyuubi when he was on a mission of peace? _How simple_. "No."

"No?" Naruto repeated.

"No?" Gaara echoed. He smirked inwardly. _Figures._

"No," Itachi said firmly.

Sakura, meanwhile, looked as if anything and everything she knew in life was coming crashing down all at once. "Wait... what are you doing here?" she asked Itachii.

"His girlfriend's getting surgery," Gaara said bluntly.

"You have a _girlfriend_?!" Naruto and Sakura said in one voice.

Itachi groaned inwardly and glared at Gaara. "Yes."

"Wait, your girlfriend is the one with the vocal cords, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yes."

"So, your girlfriend is Orochimaru's daughter?"

"Yes."

"You were aware of that?"

_God this girl was annoying._ "Yes."

"_Orochimaru_ has a _daughter_?!"

And, so, Uchiha Itachi had a problem.

* * *

A.N: Man, you people are evil! You all wanted Itachi to try and capture Naruto again!And yes, while that would have been highly amusing, let me point something out to you.

Itachi is here, as Gaara said, with his girlfriend.

His girlfriend who he loves.

His girlfriend who is under-going life-or-death surgery at this point.

What kind of selfish ass goes looking for the Kyuubi when he's in that sutuation???

Oh well, that was the one time I couldn't obey the wishes of my readers. (claps hands together; bows) Please forgive me!


	23. For The First Time

**Apprentice**

O.o Twenty two chappies?! Holy shit! This is my longest ficcy, like, ever! And counting the prolog, that's 23!!!! (faints)

(recovers)

H-R is mad at me because I've been writing in this fic so much, and Genius In Love only has 15-ish chappies. What? I love this ficcie more... It hases Itachi-kun! (glomp)

Itachi: Gerroff.

Aha... See, he does love Shizuka, ain't that cute???

Itachi: (blush) I do not!

Shizuka: (suddenly appears with an axe)

Itachi: Kidding! Kidding, kidding, kidding...

But, I mean, wow... Everyone has allen in love with this ficcie! You all seem to really like Shizuka, and are so totally protective of her relationship with Itachi (with the except of like, two people), more then I am!

(chills on cloud 9 for a while)

I get so many reviews for this fic, it's awesome! Before, with ficcies like Kankurou's Growth Spurts, and A Night To Remember, I had to work with like, 3 per chappie. Now, I get an average of, like, 8!! (That's alot, if you've only been on the site for about five months. No, seriously)

BTW, I'm collaborating with my friend from school, whose name on this is crazyme89, on a Shino ficcie. I'll let you know when the title comes out, but we went over story boards and ideas and stuff on Friday. It should be good; a one-shot, but very good. A humor, as well. (heart) Please check it out and review for us when we post it!

I (heart) REVIEWS!!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-two: For The First Time**

Itachi paced back and forth before the room where Shizuka's surgery was being performed. Naruto, Gaara and Sakura sat on a bench, watching him, their eyes following him as he slowly walked back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back. Every so often, he would stop in front of the door and look at it for a while, the resume his pacing. Twice, they got up; once to get smoothies, and once just to go to the bathroom; when they got back, he was still pacing. Close inspection to the floor on which he so heartlessly tred would show a soft dent growing in the once-polished surface.

Then he stopped.

And the foot-tapping began.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The accursed tapping, whose rhythm fixates itself in one's mind.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The infernal tapping of one who is emotionally detressed.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The annoying tapping of one who is emotionally detressed, and yet all pity is slowly draining.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Yes. That tapping.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Gaara, Sakura and Naruto looked at each other. This tapping had to stop. It had to, or else all sanity that Naruto and Sakura still had access to would leave them (Gaara was already nuts).

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Itachi?" Gaara said finally.

"Shut up."

"Right, right..."

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"How long is this going to take?" Naruto asked of Sakura.

"An hour or so," she answered regrettfully.

Naruto sighed heavily and hung his head anime-style.

"Why are you still here and why haven't you squished him yet?" Sakura asked Gaara.

"Because, A: She's my partner, and B: See above," Gaara answered, not missing a beat.

"So?"

Gaara looked at her. "You don't pay attention when you talk, do you?"

"Well, actually--"

"Don't answer that." Gaara cut her and her diabolical answer off with a raised hand. "Shizuka is, as you said, Orochimaru's daughter. Imagine what she'd do to me if I did squish him. And, FYI, I do not call it 'squishing.' I have a very articulate name for it: murder/killing/mutalation/destruction." _You told her, didn't you?!_ he hissed inwardly at Shuukaku.

**Meanwhile...**

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"HOW MUCH LONGER?!" Naruto shouted.

"We should buy something for her, for when she wakes up," Sakura offered, standing up. (Inner-Sakura: **Anything's better then sticking around with pyscho-tapper**!) "People like getting presents when they're sick." She nodded knowingly.

"Ok, Sakura-chan!" Naruto jumped up at once. "Come on, Gaara!" He turned to his red-headed friend.

"No, you know what, I'm good." Gaara relaxed his limbs on the newly obtained space he now had on the bench.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"But, you know, Shizuka's a good kid, she deserves presents." Gaara stood up and followed them.

Itachi watched them go, out of the corner of his eye; he had, of course, heard every word of the conversation, but found himself not caring.

**Flashback**

"_Itachi... You know nothing can happen with you guys."_

_"What?" Itachi asked, coldly (notice he gives up denying it)._

_"Well... I mean, think about it," Kisame continued. "You're eighteen, and legally an adult. She's fourteen."_

_"So?"_

_"So, she's still a kid!" Kisame answered, growing bolder. "That's illegal in some countries!" _

**End Flashback**

**Flashback**

_"One of these days, you're going to find someone who you can be yourself around, and they won't think you're weird. And when you do, do you know what you have to do?"_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_"It's really selfish of you to keep at... this... just because you want a piece of ass, not to mention totally irresponsible."_

_"'A piece of ass'?" Itachi repeated, his eyes narrowing._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_**Itachi...? **_

_"Mm...?"_

_**Is that all you can say? **_

_"Mm-hmm..."_

_**You know what?**_

_"Rwha...?" His speech was beginning to slur. _

_**...I love you, too.**_

**End flashback**

_Shizuka... _Itachi thought desperately. _Please be ok..._

**(In The Konoha-marketplace)**

"Let's split up," Sakura suggested, when they reached Konoha's marketplace. "I'll be at Ino's." (Flowers: cure for all ills.)

"Ok, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried, saluting happily and trotting off into the distance without bothering to tell them where he was going.

Gaara and Sakura were left alone.

They looked at each other.

"Er... Do you need any help finding what you need?" Sakura asked weakly.

"No." Gaara stalked off. He knew this village better then she probably did; he spent all of the nights during the Chuunin exam last year walking around, and knew where all the stores were, and all the different kinds of merchandise. He had even drawn himself a map of the entire town, in detail, before leaving Konoha. He'd left that map in Sunaga, but he knew it by heart. And if, through some strange change of fate, he got lost, the ANBU were always tagging along behind him and they should know their village, right?

Gaara frowned, looking around at all the shops. A problem arouse for him: what do you get for a girl??? Weapons were out of the question: she didn't need something sharp to try and hurt them with, along with her nails. Food? _No, Temari always screamed at Kankurou that he was trying to get her fat when he bought her food for her birthday (but she ate it anyway)._ Toys? _Ohh, yes! Children liked toys! Wait. Shizuka wasn't a 'children.' Crap. What. A. Fix._

Gaara's ever-so-keen eye suddenly caught something; something wonderful; something magnificent!

_Shiny!_ Gaara ran over to a window display of jewelry. He pressed his face against the glass and starred_. Shiny, shiny shiny... Ohh, wait! Girls like shiny! Temari has lots of shiny! (Not anymore, since I stole it, but...) Maybe Shizuka would like a shiny, as well! So I can put it in safe keeping later!_

Looking both ways to make sure no guys were looking at him, Gaara went into the shop.

**Meanwhile...**

Sakura sighed, looking at the displays of flowers. What should she get? For once, the display at Yamanako's Flowery wasn't as large; winter was coming, so the Yamanakos were getting ready to put their wintery things on display: big, red flowers and wreaths and such. Sakura could already smell the faint scent of pine.

"Ohayo, Sakura."

Sakura suppressed a groan. "Hello, Ino." She turned to look at her old friend.

Ino smiled from behind the counter. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm shopping," Sakura answered, as if that weren't clear already.

"Ohh." For once, Ino didn't ask if Sakura was shopping for Sasuke; she knew what had happened, and she knew Sakura was still upset about it. Ino wasn't that cold. "Is Naruto in the hospital again, then?"

"No." Sakura looked over some small, pink flowers arranged in a vase. Somehow, she didn't think pink was Shizuka's color. "Gaara, Naruto and I are shopping for Gaara's partner; she's having surgery today."

"So those Atatsuki did come, then?" Ino went to join Sakura at the displays.

Sakura nodded, brushing over some cosmos; cosmos were in plenty, at the end of autumn, but again, pink didn't seem right.

"And you're just walking around with them?" Ino asked, as if this were some unearthly crime.

"They have ANBU guards. And they seem pretty normal." Sakura thought for a while. "OK, well, the blue guy is a little weird. But, still. They're here so Shizuka can get surgery so she can talk. They all seem pretty friendly... with each other," she ended lamely, remembering Itachi's cold nature. And the essence if the being that was Uchiha Itachi himself. She would bitch-slap him later. Right now, she had to get a present for his girlfriend.

"Sasuke-kun's brother is in that group, isn't he?" Ino asked curiously.

"Yes. Itachi. It's his girlfriend that's getting the surgery," Sakura added before Ino could get any ideas. "Tsunade-sensei thinks he's 'funny.'"

"Ohh... Hm." Ino looked slightly put out. "What's she like?"

"Who?" Sakura looked at her bluntly, holding a few red roses. _Red might be Shizuka's color... her funky cloak had red on it!_ (SNG WANTS one of those!) "I'll take these."

"The girlfriend," Ino answered, going back behind the counter to ring up Sakura's purchase. "What kind of girl is she?"

"I don't know." Sakura shrugged, giving Ino the flowers to wrap. "I never met her. She was under gas by the time I got in the room where the surgery was performed." She gave Ino an uncertain look. "Why?"

Ino shrugged, giving Sakura her flowers. "Just wondering what kind fo girl an Uchiha boy likes," she said with the familiar smirk.

Sakura scoffed loudly, exiting the flower shop. "We'll see, won't we?"

"I'll come by later, Sakura-chan!" Ino called after her, grinning. As soon as Sakura's pink head was out of view down the street, Ino's expression dropped. _Poor Sakura... _Ino thought sadly. _She's trying so hard to act like Sasuke didn't hurt her... It's almsot hard to keep this whole thing up... _Ino suddenly came back to her senses. _Almost._

**(A Few Minutes Later)**

Sakura was the last to return to the place where she and the boys had parted ways. Gaara was there, with a lump in his pocket; so he'd opted for a small gift. Hmm. Naruto was there, as well, waving what looked like a bag from...

"Oh, no, Naruto, you didn't." Sakura groaned.

"What?" Naruto asked confusedly. He looked down at his gift. "What's wrong with my present?"

"Nothing..." Sakura said with a sigh as they headed back to the hospital.

When they got back to the hallway, Itachi wasn't there, tapping or pacing. Sakura frowned, going into the room. "Wait here," she ordered.

Gaara and Naruto looked at each other. "Where's tall, dark and gloomy?" Naruto asked.

Gaara shrugged as Sakura came back out. "You guys can come in," she said softly, her face set.

Gaara frowned, pushing past Naruto to get in the room first; had something gone wrong, that Sakura was so serious? He opened the door, looking in.

It wasn't a large room, but, at the same time, it wasn't a small one, either. It was dimly lit; the small, four-by-four window cast soft, morning light on a large, white-clad bed. Beside the bed, there were a few sanitary objects, such as clothes and the like. Around the bed were Tsunade, Shizune and their assistants, blocking the bed from view. Gaara pushed past them roughly.

His eyes widened.

"A-Arigatou... Tsunade-sama..." said a soft, new voice Gaara had never heard before.


	24. Roses Are Red

**Apprentice**

Sorry for the long wait. I was busy. My Neji-fic, _The Purity Of White _just came out, and I've been working on it night and day, literally. This chapter also was stuck in the comp downstairs in H-R's room for the longest time, so I haven't been able to finish it, or even write it, for that matter. Plus, this was a difficult chapter. And I difficult story to write, not that I'm on the comp in the kitchen, mainly because of the sex scenes. I just know my almost-step-dad is going to look at my desktop, possibly open up this file, and be like "What are you writing?!" and then I'd be in deep shit.

......Nah, he wouldn't do that. He's cool. He asked my mom to marry him on Christmas day, how romantic is that?

But anyway, back to the bed scenes... I hope people aren't thinking I'm turning into a perve. Some girls (and boys) in, like, middle school, or lower (not that people lower then 8th should be reading this) might blush and say,"Oh my god, she's so dirty! She's putting sex scenes everywhere!" But for people around my age, it's totally normal. I used to have a problem with it, yes, like, the word 'penis' would make me blush, or I couldn't watch kissing scenes in movies because it was gross. And _A Night To Remember _was a nightmare! It was my first romance, and everyone wanted sex! It was so weird for me, because I had never written it! But now, I have absolutely no problem putting in a bed scene if it's nessesary for the characters' developement. Itachi and Shizuka are both growing up, and their relationship is developing. And with that, in accordance to character maturity, etc, comes sex.

Someone asked me how I could describe the sex so vividly, and they were like, "You're not a virgin, are you!?" (It was my friend, so it's ok) But, yes, surprisingly, I am. I've never had sex before (Except in my dreams.... Neji.... -hearts pop up everywhere- J/K) but I have had boyfriends before, so I'm not a loser. It kind of scares me, actually, when people two years younger then me, or kids in sixth grade, talk about their boyfriends and how they've had sex dozens of times, and they smoke crack, yadda yadda. It just scares me that they lie like that to get attention! It's so wrong. You shouldn't have to lie to get people to like you. What annoys me even more is when girls let guys push them into sex, or when they have sex on the first date because they're so anxious to turn in their 'V-card.' Lesson to fellow virgins: Wait a while! Make sure the guy/girl is worth it before you have sex with him! Especially if it's your first time! Shizuka and Itachi waited, like, three months before they had sex! Surely you can wait too! I'm still looking for a nice, good guy to go out with... I've had problems with my last few boyfriends, because it turned out, all they wanted was sex, and it didn't matter if it was me or some slut on a street corner. So, please, for the love of god, wait for the right, sensible guy to come along. If you've found the right guy, congrats, KEEP HIM!!

But, even if he is nice and sweet and perfect, Itachi's dad was right... Men think about sex every five minutes, and do 'it' every night. They only have enough blood to run their brain or their penis at a time, and, seventy percent of the time, it goes to their penis.

(Sorry, kiddies, but thems the facts!)

Wow, this author-note took up a whole page! (As you can tell, I am very opinionated about teen sex)

This chapter is kind of sad... the name should give you a hint or two.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-three: Roses Are Red**

Gaara shoved one of the medic nins out of his way, trying to discover who the voice belonged to. Finally at the edge of the bed, Gaara stopped, his heart racing.

Shizuka was sitting upright in the bed, with Itachi next to her, his arm around her and his head on her shoulder, his eyes closed. She was starring at her hand in her lap, the other at her throat, as if it were the most amazing thing she'd ever felt.

".....Shizuka?" Gaara offered softly.

She looked up. Gaara's eyes widened; her eyes were red, and streaming. "G-Gaara..." she said in a half-whisper. Her lower lip quivvered. "Meh...." A fresh bout of tears swept over her face, which she quickly buried in Itachi's arm.

Gaara looked around bluntly. "Is she going to do that every time she tries a new word? Because I assure you, I will lose my sanity."

Tsunade smiled. "Just give her time," she said softly, as Itachi, whose face was still in a slight shadow, whispered softly in Shizuka's ear. "It's the first time she's ever really spoke by her own means." She glanced at Gaara's pocket. "Is that a present I see? For me?" She smiled casually.

Gaara scoffed. "No." He reached into his pocket and took out the small velvet box.

"We all got presents for Shizuka-san, Tsunade-sensei," Sakura offered, smiling.

Tsunade flashed one of her quick grins at her subordinate, and said, "Alright, go ahead," and sat down at the table Gaara just noticed was in the room (because I just put it in...).

"ME FIRST!" Naruto insisted, popping up quite suddenly. Sakura groaned slightly and passed a hand over her eyes. Naruto plopped a plastic bag in Shizuka's lap with a huge grin. "This is from me to you in accordance to all things insane!" he said happily, looking insanely proud of himself.

Itachi, having grown up in Konoha all his life, knew exactly what was him the bag, and gave Naruto an "Oh, hell, no" look as Shizuka picked at the knot keeping the bag closed.

Shizuka looked in the bag; she raised an eyebrow. "W-Well, it's, um...." She scratched her head, more out of confusion as to the purpose of the gift then what the gift was.

"RAMEN!" Naruto squealed happily, looking estacically pleased with himself.

"Yeah, but did if have to be cooked already?" Itachi asked, picking up one of the noodles as if it were a slug; sure enough, the bowl of ramen (which was not in a secure box, as it normally would) was all over the inside of the bag.

Naruto looked as if all the confidence he had ever possessed in his entire life had been shot down. But, he quickly recovered, and grinned, taking the bag from her. "Don't worry, I'll exchange it and be extra careful this time!" And he practically skipped out of the room.

(Inner Sakura: **Someone has a cruuush...!**) "Your turn, Gaara."

Gaara glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I'd rather not, just yet."

Sakura whined inwardly. (**But I wanted to see what he got her...!**) "Ok, fine." She sighed, and smiled at Shizuka, giving her the bouquet. "Here. This is from me, obviously."

Shizuka's eyes widened as she looked down at the flowers in her hands. After a few minutes, her hand lifted to touch the petals softly.

**Flashback**

_**I brought you flowers this time.** She lifted his hand gently and placed it on the soft bouquet of flowers she had indeed brought him. **Roses, **she added, **red ones. Just the way you like.**_

_He smiled around his respirator. "Thank you." His nimble fingers graced the soft red peddles. "How many?"_

_**Five,** she answered, bringing his hand down to touch the stems. _

**End flashback**

Sakura smiled brightly. "Aren't they pretty?"

Shizuka nodded, her eyes shielded from view by her dark hair. "They're-They're beautiful... Thank you."

Tsunade glanced at Shizuka from her place at the table, then said to Sakura, "Come on, Sakura, help me carry the medical supplies out for cleaning." She stood up.

"Huh? But--"

"Sakura," Tsunade said in a stern voice that was not meant to be argued with.

Sakura sighed heavily and nodded. "Ok, ok..." She sent Gaara a glare for taking so long to give Shizuka her gift, and followed Tsunade out the door.

Gaara looked back at Shizuka.

Itachi looked as well, already sensing the mood. "Shizuka?"

She looked up at them, holding the roses closely to her body, smiling slightly. "Sorry. They just won't stop," she said softly, tears streaming down her face.

Itachi glanced at Gaara. "Gaara." He nodded to the door.

"Actually..." Shizuka said before Gaara could move. "Um... Itachi-kun, could you just... leave me alone for a little?"

"..." Itachi looked at her out of the corner of his eye; she was looking down at the roses with a strange expression on her face. "Sure," he said finally, getting up and walking to the door, even though he in no way, shape or form wanted to leave her right now, after being without her for hours. He and Gaara stepped out of the room, closing the door behind them.

"Is she alright?"

Gaara and Itachi looked up to see Kisame sitting on the bench where Gaara, Naruto and Sakura had been sitting less then an hour earlier.

Itachi scowled, not forgetting Kisame's previous words. "Well--" he began, but was quite suddenly cut off by a loud wail.

"_Kimimaru_...!" Shizuka sobbed, clutching the bouquet of flowers as she broke down into loud, ragged, heart-broken sobs. "_Kimimaru_..." She let out a scream, bending over herself, all the while clutching the flowers.

Itachi and Gaara glanced back at the door, eyes wide; Itachi made a move to go back in, but Gaara stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Don't," the sand nin said steadily. "Just leave her be... She'll be alright."

Itachi looked down at him, his eyes a conflict of emotions, then, finally, nodded, leaning against the wall by the door. "Yeah."

"I take that scream to mean she's alright?"

"Shut up, Kisame."

**(A week later...)**

Itachi gave Shizuka a side-ways glance as they walked down the street, as he was prone to do since she had had her surgery. Once again, she caught him, and smiled. "What?"

"...Nothing." He looked away, for he umpteenth time.

Shizuka pouted a little, but recovered, clamping down on his arm. "Where are we going, Itachi-kun?"

"Ah..." Itachi thought for a minute.

"You do know where we're going, don't you?" she asked critically, looking up at him.

He scoffed. "Yes. I grew up in this village."

She shrugged, rubbing her cheek into his arm. "Ok, whatever you say."

Itachi glanced down at her again, but kept walking.

Shizuka smiled slightly, closing her eyes, letting him lead her. _This is nice, _she thought with a happy, inward sigh. _Just doing things... like normal boyfriends and girlfriends do, and not having to worry about Ninja things..._

She unentwined one of her arms from Itachi's and reached up to touch a small charm on a thin chain around her neck. It was a very small charm, rather hard to see, barely half an inch thick. It was a very, very small, silver Uchiha crest, with the top of the fan colored red, as it should be, and the rest left silver. On the back of the fan were the initials _U. I. _and _H. N. S._

**Flashback**

_"Here." Gaara shoved a small, wrapped box into Shizuka's hands. "It's nothing fancy or anything. I just thought it would cheer you up."_

_**End flashback**_

She smiled inwardly again. _Well done, Gaara._

She looked up as they neared a fenced-in area surrounded by trees. "Where are we going?" she asked again.

"Konoha's graveyard."

"Grave....? But we already went there," Shizuka cried, recalling the day they had gone to the graveyard to pay respects to her deceased grandparents, as well as Itachi's parents.

"This is another one."

"Another one? How many graveyards do you people have?"

"Just the two. One is for the people of Konoha. The other is for Konoha's dead opponents, whose families didn't want them, or the ones with no families and nowhere to go and no one to pay respects."

Shizuka shrugged. "That seems nice." She paused, realization dawning on her. "Wait!" She stopped, letting go of Itachi. "You're not--"

"I think you should," he said calmly, coming to a stop as well.

"No!" she shouted, covering her ears with her hands. "I don't want to!"

"That doesn't matter. They're your friends. You should pay them respects."

"I don't want to!" she repeated, glaring at him. "You can't make me!"

Itachi sighed. "It's right."

"I don't care! They're dead! I already know that! I don't have to see their graves!"

Itachi reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her. "I don't care. You're going! Now, come on!"

"No!" She tried to pull her arm out of his hand. "Let go!"

"No!" He half pulled, half dragged her down the street, drawing stares from passerby. "You're going to go see Kidoumaru, Jiroubou and Tayuya's graves!"

"No, I'm not!" She pulled at her arm again, feeling tears leaking down her cheeks. "Itachi, let go!"

"I won't!" He continued walking down the street, nearing the graveyard.

"Itachi..." Her voice was barely a whimper now. "Let go... You're hurting me!"

Itachi didn't answer; he didn't look at her; he didn't even acknowledge that she'd spoken. He reached the fence and opened the gate, stepping in and pulling her none-too-gently after him.

"I-Itachi-kun, please..."

"Look!" He half-threw her on the ground in front of a set of nearly identical gravestones, all with different names. "These are your friends! If you had died, they would come and pay you respects! Look at them, Shizuka!" He put a hand under her chin, forcing her to look at the gravestone closest her.

_Sakkon_

"Do you see?!" Itachi shouted, barely five inches away from her ear as she starred at the word in a mix of horror and almost fear. "These are your friends! Your best friends! Now get on your knees and pay your respects!"

Shizuka gulped, doing as he said, kneeling before the gravestones and putting her hands in a praying motion. _Er... Hi, guys, _she began, _um... You guys might not know this, but... I can talk now. The Hokage fixed my voice... Don't laugh at me, Kidoumaru, _she thought angrily, picturing his jeering face at the fact that she had asked help from the Hokage. _Um... so, yeah... I miss you guys alot, _she continued on a different note. _I even miss you guys ragging on me for being spoiled and bratty and... I'm sorry. _

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Itachi, who, to her immeadiate shock and amazement, was on his knees, as well, praying. _Um... This is Itachi. He's my... well, actually, he's... Oh, alright, my boyfriend, Tayuya. I'm not sure what he's saying to you, but I hope it's good stuff... He's alright once you get to know him. _

A thought occured to her. _Oh... I-I'm sorry, Sakkon... It's just... Well, h-he said he loved me, and I--_

"Don't worry, Shizuka-sama... All I want is for you to be happy," said a voice, all too familiar.

Shizuka whirled around, her eyes snapping open. "Sakkon?!"

He smiled his green-rimmed smile, his hand on her shoulder, leaning over behind her. "I'm right here with you, Shizuka-sama."

"Sakkon!" she sobbed, reaching out to him; she couldn't feel his touch on her shoulder, but she didn't care; all she wanted to know was that he was real, and here with her.

Her eyes widened as her hand went right through his chest. Slowly, he faded away... "S-Sakkon...?"

Itachi looked up at her from his kneeling position. Slowly, she resumed her position in prayer before the graves. _You see, Sakkon?_ she thought with a sigh. _I'll ever forget you all... and I'm sorry I can't say I love you back that way, Sakkon... but I'll be ok. I'll be good. Please rest in peace._ Shizuka stood up, dusting herself off. "I'm done," she told Itachi.

He nodded, standing up as well. Shizuka made her way through the graves to the gate. "Come on, Itachi-kun!" she called.

"Just a minute." He turned back to the graves and raised one hand before his face in a respectful manner. _Don't worry,_ _Sakkon... I'll take care of her._

**(The next day)**

Shizuka yawned a little, starring out her window dreamily. The sun was just about to rise, setting everything in a pink glow; her pale, porcelain skin was a soft rose shade which looked like her entire body was blushing.

_Speaking of blushing..._ She glanced back at the bed, where Itachi was sleeping peacefully; his dark hair was feathered out across his pillow, his arm set slightly away from himself where he had been holding her a few moments ago. She smiled slightly at the memories of the night before.

**Flashback**

_"Shi... zuka..." Itachi gasped, his hair trickling over his shoulders to tickle her face. His movements were long and rolling... she practically purred every time he came into contact with her. She reached out to him, putting her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her. He obeyed, raining kisses as he continually rolled inside her, his pace quickening ever so slightly._

_She gasped. "Itachi...!" Her head tilted back slightly, and he took advantage of it, kissing her neck._

_"Shizuka... Say my name again," he whispered softly. He loved hearing her say his name, loved watching her lips move to form the word. He loved everything about her, he realized... even her faults, and her attitude problem... She wouldn't be Shizuka without them._

_She ran her fingers through his hair, whispering, ever so softly, "Itachi..." She gasped again as his pace quickened even more; small tears leaked out from the corners of her eyes; it still hurt. Pain was blind, but she trusted him... He had promised it would stop hurting, and it always did._

_He whispered softly to her, rocking against her; she couldn't make out the words, but the meaning was clear. Slowly, the pain ebbed away, and the pleasure continued._

_"My Itachi," she whispered through gasps of breath._

**End flashback**

Shizuka smiled again fondly, crossing over to the bed and leaning over him, giving him a soft flutter of a kiss on his forehead then going into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face and all that clean stuff. She turned on the water and waited for the sink to fill up a bit, looking at her reflection. It had been a while since she'd looked in the mirror... Not since Itachi's last mission, when he left his necklace with her. She hadn't changed much since then... not really, anyway... But there was something that made her feel she looked different, but she couldn't figure it out. She frowned, noticing something, and leaned closer.

Her eyes widened, pulling at the robe encasing her ever so slightly so she could see her neck and collarbone. Tiny little teethmarks freckled her skin every so often. _Omigawd... His mark? _She opened her robe ever so slightly and looked in. _Right there.... and there... and all the way down there?? _She closed the robe. _Oh, he's good. _(Copied scene from _Ceres, _Vol. 7 by Yu Watase) She finished washing her face and brushing her teeth and went back into the room, crawling back under the covers.

She lay looking at him for a few minutes, her head on his shoulder; his face was towards her, his eyes still closed, his breath tickling her face. His long eyelashes feathered across his cheeks gracefully. _He's so beautiful, _she thought with a soft sigh, tracing the lines under his eyes with her fingers. His eyes fluttered open and she quickly withdrew the hand.

"Shizuka," he said, looking at her. "...What?"

She shrugged, snuggling closer to him. "I was just thinking..."

"Well, I mean... I didn't used to care about stuff, you know," she said softly, talking to his chin, not looking at his eyes. "I mean, I cared, sort of, like... I cared about my family, and the Five, but... I didn't realize it until they died... Then, everything came clear..."

"...And?"

"And..." She looked up into his eyes, her expression looking pained. "I... don't want that to happen with us," she whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Please... I don't want you to die," she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder. "Don't... Don't ever leave me..."

Itachi starred down at her head for a few minutes, slightly confused, then put his arm around her again, pulling her closer. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

_Sakkon smiled slightly, floating in mid-air, watching his former love and her new companion whisper soft promises to each other. _Well done Shizuka-sama...

Are you finished yet? _Kimimaru appeared next to him. _You have been watching her for three months now.

_Sakkon shook his head. _Not yet.

_Kimimaru rolled his eyes. _I do not see what is so important. He said he would take care of her. Is that not enough?

No.

* * *

_**SNG'S LITTLE FAN FICTION NEWSLETTER:**_

**ATTENTION REVIEWERS!!**

I guess you guys already know _Catharsis _is going in a few days... Here's the list of fan fics also going.

_Catharsis_

_This Much I Know Is True_

_My Beloved Monster And Me_

Again, please don't try and convince me that I should keep them up. If you want to read them again for some unknown reason, e-mail me and I'll send the chapters to you (I still have them on the other computor) but they won't be on this site anymore.

**PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY READ THIS:**

I (heart) U!

**LIST OF SONGS SO FAR FOR _THE PURITY OF WHITE_:**

(dead silence)

What, you think I'm'a tell you?


	25. Surrealism

**Apprentice**

Hello! Wow, this took me a while to write.... I had absolutely no inspiration for it whatsoever, and then, three nights ago, I was laying in bed at three a.m., and then, Inspiration hit me over the head with a bag of bricks and I ran upstairs and wrote this down!

This was a really hard chapter... It has a lot of little details and quirks and insaneness and complications that should not be typed at four a.m., but hey, what the heck.

Now, I full intended on taking a vacation from you beyotchs, like kie-san diagnosed, and I will... soon.... (Kenshin grin) Maybe sometime when I'm not in the middle of one of my best and favorite stories, I will, ne? Yes. Ok, enjoy!

Longest chapter yet, HELL YEAH!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Surrealism**

Itachi was the first to wake up. His Sharingen-red eyes blinked in the sudden sunlight, but he quickly adjusted. Glancing around, his eyes fell on the sleeping face next to his. He smiled slightly, just barely, running a finger down her cheek. She'd cried herself to sleep in his arms, his promises and whispered assurances not enough. But she looked very peaceful when she slept, not like the night a few weeks ago when she discovered her friends had died. Now, she looked peaceful, and something else... He couldn't really put his finger on it, because he'd never seen it in her face before... Or he had, but hadn't noticed. It looked almost...

Happy.

He frowned slightly, brushing her hair out of her face. She shifted slightly, and he quickly moved away; as he predicted, she swept her arms up over her head, stretched cat-like, then relaxed and assumed the fetal position, her back to him. He sighed slightly, moving in again to lay next to her again, wondering what his dear, demented little brother would think if he knew the older of the two Uchihas was spending almost every morning of his life memorizing his girlfriend's sleeping habits.

Oh, who gave a shit?

Uchiha Itachi certainly didn't. His little brother was a dead-case with a tiny brain. Who cared what Sasuke thought about how Itachi spent his time?

* * *

_Shizuka felt someone shake her gently, disturbing her from her dream. "No... stop... I'm sleeping..."_

_"I know that. This is your dream, now wake up so I can talk to you."_

_"No... I like sleep... Sleep good..." She rolled over._

_"Yeah, I know, and you're dreaming, so technically, I'm not waking you up." Whoever it was shook her harder. "Come on, Shizuka-sama, I don't have all night!"_

_One of Shizuka's eyes fluttered open to find out who the hell was torturing her. Her eyes widened. "Sakkon?!"_

_Sakkon smiled at her, sitting back on his heels. "It's about time you woke up."_

_Shizuka practically threw herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Sakkon!"_

_Sakkon faltered slightly, then put his arms around her gently. "I-It's good to see you, too."_

_Shizuka smiled slightly, sitting back. "Did you hear my prayer the other day?"_

_"Oh, yes. Thank you." He smiled._

_Shizuka's smiled faded slightly as she looked at him; the edges of his form were shimmery, like he wasn't quite there. "You're a ghost, aren't you?"_

_Sakkon nodded. "Yeah. For some time now." He nodded at the bed behind Shizuka. "Who's that?"_

_Shizuka turned. Her eyes widened. "Oh... Um..." She gave Sakkon a cheesy look. "Yeah, that's Itachi."_

_"Why's he touching your face?" Sakkon pointed to where the still-awake Itachi was stroking Shizuka's sleeping body's cheek. _

_"He does that," Shizuka answered, not even looking. It was like a grey film was enveloping her and Sakkon, leaving Itachi and Shizuka's body on the outside._

_Sakkon gave her a small, side-ways glance. "...Oh..."_

**The fastest man in the world**

_"What?" Shizuka raised an eyebrow at him. Realization slowly crept over her. "Oh--I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't-- It wasn't--"_

**Fast asleep at the wheel**

_Sakkon shook his head. "No, it's ok... I didn't really expect _you_ to end up a spinster, Shizuka-sama." He smiled at her a little, even though it was an empty smile._

**Nobody wants to be alone **

_"I hurt you," she said softly, leaning forward to push his hair out of his eyes._

_"No, you didn't," he answered, ducking around the movement. "I saw everything happening. You didn't hurt me."_

**So how did I get **

_"But you said that you--" Shizuka's eyes widened and she blushed. "E-Everything?"_

_He nodded silently, his eyes followed the movement of Itachi's hand across her cheek._

**Here?**

_"You pervert," she said with a scoff, trying to make a joke out of it... anything to disrupt the tension._

_"Oh, yes." He nodded, smirking at her._

**When I look at you, I see him staring through**

_Shizuka watched him for a few minutes, then said softly, "I did hurt you, didn't I?"_

_He scoffed. "You hurt me loads of times, Shizuka-sama, it doesn't matter anymore. I'm over it."_

**Awake and a smile, cuz he's been inside of you**

_Shizuka raised an eyebrow. "What loads of times? I don't remember any loads of times!"_

_Sakkon gave her a look. "I'm a ghost, genius. I can hear your thoughts."_

_**Flashback**_

I thought Sakkon taught me all I needed to know about kissing... He told me he loved me and I believed him.

I even thought I started to like him back.

But there was the one issue that he lied to me my whole life.

It was a stupid thing... I knew it would never work out. I'm not even sure I wanted it to. I always wanted to explore my options first.

Well, now that I have, I don't really want to go back.

Sakkon never made me feel like Itachi does.

_**End flashback**_

**Is he all the things you**

_Her jaw dropped. "You heard _that

_Sakkon scoffed. "Oh, yeah, I heard it." _

**Tried to change me into?**

_His face softened slightly when she looked away, almost ashamed. He reached out and touched her face ever so slightly. "But I didn't really give you friendly parting words, did I? Telling you that you were a spoiled brat who needed to grow up." He nodded towards Itachi. "I suppose he never says stuff like that to you?"_

**Is he everything to you?**

_Shizuka shook her head slightly. "No... He doesn't really talk that much."_

"_Do you love him?"_

_Shizuka's eyes widened. "Huh?"_

**Does he make you high? Make you real?**

_"Just pretend for a second that I'm not still in love with you; do you love him?"_

**Does he make you cry? Does he know the way you feel?**

_"Um..." Shizuka looked down. "...Yeah..."_

**Love is all around you **

_Sakkon's face fell ever so slightly. "Real love?"_

**Your universe is full**

_At her nod, he shook his head. "No." She looked up, confused. He gave her a small, understanding smile. _

**But in my world **

_"No one can love you as much as I do, Shizuka-sama," he said with a smile, brushing her hair out of her eyes._

**There is only you**

_Her eyes widened, but she quickly looked away again. "I can't--"_

_"I know."_

**I can still find the smell**

_She looked up at him again. He shrugged. "I know. I know you don't love me."_

**On my clothes and skin**

_He gave her a small, half-hearted smile. "You didn't even _like_ me for a while. But that doesn't change the fact that _I_ love _you

**I can still see your face, when you're sleeping next to him**

_Shizuka looked down again. "Can we not talk about this?"_

**Is he all the things you **

_Sakkon shrugged. "I can't help it. All I've been doing for the past three months is watch you guys. The two of you are all I think about."_

**Tried to change me into?**

_He glanced over at her, watching her face grow pained, and moved so he was sitting next to her, his arm around her shoulders. "Listen, Shizuka... I love you, and I want you to be happy. And if you being happy means being with him, that's alright... But I don't trust him..."_

**Tell me does he…**

_Shizuka looked up at him, confused. "What's not to trust? You don't even know him."_

**Does he make you high? Does he make you real?**

_"No, I don't, but I still don't trust him... with you," he added.

* * *

_

**Does he make you cry? Does he know the way you feel?**

Itachi looked up from Shizuka's sleeping face; he sensed a trace of chakra somewhere in the room... one totally alien from his or Shizuka's... it didn't even feel natural, or even alive.

**Love is all around you**

"Hello, Uchiha Itachi," said a deep, cold voice.

Itachi's head snapped up, Sharingen flashing. They widened almost instantly. "Sakkon?!"

**Your universe is full**

The ghost of the Sound nin smiled slightly. "Yes. Hello."

**But in my world**

"Yours was the strange chakra?" Itachi asked, frowning. At Sakkon's nod, Itachi shook Shizuka gently. "Shizuka, wake up."

"She won't."

**I've had enough of fears **

Itachi looked up. "Won't what?"

"She won't wake up." Sakkon smiled.

**You let them out**

"Why not?" Itachi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's with me. Inside her head. She won't wake up until I wake her." Sakkon's smile widened.

**Now I wrap myself around you **

Itachi's eyes widened. "You trapped her?"

Sakkon nodded. "Oh, yes. And I'll never let her go."

**Like a blanket full of doubt**

Sakkon chuckled to himself almost happily. "She'll be with me forever. Just like it should have been. You'll never get her back."

Itachi's eyes widened.

* * *

**I'll be your everything**

_Shizuka looked up when she heard a soft pounding in her head. "What's that?"_

_Sakkon gave her a smile. "What's what?"_

**Does he make you high? Does he make you real?**

_"That pounding..." She rubbed her temples._

**Does he make you cry? Does he know the way you feel?**

_Sakkon looked around. "Che..."_

_Shizuka looked around as well. Her eyes widened. "Itachi?"_

**Love is all around you

* * *

**

Itachi jumped up, running at Sakkon's ghost, drawing a fist back, but barely got within five feet of him before he was repelled back against the bed. "What--"

"I'm sorry," Sakkon said, smiling. "But I can't let you have her."

**Your universe is full**

Itachi growled, Sharingen flashing, rushing forward again, only to be repelled again.

"I'm sorry," Sakkon repeated. "Your Sharingen won't be able to read that shield. It's not a Ninjutsu, or Genjutsu. You won't be able to break it, either."

**But in my world **

Itachi attempted at another rush, stopping a few inches away from where he'd been repelled again, and began pounding on it with his fists.

* * *

**There is only you**

_Shizuka's eyes widened, and she moved to touch the grey film on which Itachi was slamming his fists against, but Sakkon grabbed her wrist. "Don't touch that," he ordered._

_Her eyes widened. "What? But--"_

_"I don't like him, Shizuka-sama," Sakkon said coldly. "You shouldn't be with him."_

**You make me high!**

_Shizuka's eyes widened even more. "Why--"_

_"You can stay here with me," Sakkon said, looking excited. "You can stay here forever with me and you'll never have to leave and we'll be together forever and we'll be happy!"_

**You make me real!**

_"Sakkon, I can't stay asleep with you forever," Shizuka said in a would-be calm voice. _

_"Yes you can! It'll be the same as if you were alive! We'll go everywhere, and we'll see everything and you can see Kimimaru and Tayuya and the others! They're all waiting to see you!"_

**You make me cry!**

_"But--" Shizuka looked back at the spot near the wall where Itachi banged his fists unrelentingly, shouting mutely. "I don't want to..."_

**Now you know the way I feel**

_But Sakkon was unrelenting, and simply tried another method. "Shizuka-sama, you'll only grow old with him! You'll grow old and decrepit and grey and your energy will be gone! But if you stay here with me, you'll stay just as you are, for the rest of your life. Don't you want to stay the same forever?"_

**Love is all around you **

_Shizuka looked down at her hands in her lap; she knew for a fact that, in about thirty years or so, they would grow wrinkled, and be considered 'ugly'... _She_ may even be considered ugly._

**Your universe is full**

_"Sakkon," she began softly, "You're right, as usual... I will get old, eventually, and to be able to stay with you, here, and be immortal would be so awesome but..." She sighed and looked up at him. His face was stone. "I'd rather stay here, in the living world, and be able to experience life, and learn new things... I couldn't just stop at fifteen with the little bit that I know, could I?" _

**But in my world**

_She gave him a small smile. "When I do die, though, we can spend eternity together, but for now, I want to live... just live."_

**There is only you**

_Sakkon growled, tightening his hold on her wrist, which he hadn't let go. "I won't let you."_

**-Cue 'Streamline' guitar solo-**

_Shizuka gasped slightly as his grip slowly twisted the skin on her arm. "Sa–Let go, you're hurting me!"_

_Sakkon shook his head angrily. "I won't, just so you can wake up and stay with him for the rest of your life!"_

**I wasn't there for you**

_Shizuka starred at him confusedly for a few moments, then asked, "Why?"_

**I wasn't there for you**

_"Che." Sakkon looked away, not releasing her arm. "Why do you think?"_

**I know, weather's gonna be fine,

* * *

**

Itachi glared at Sakkon's ghost, who seemed intent on continually smiling at him while the Uchiha pounded on the shield.

**But I can see you cross the streamline,**

"You'll never break it," Sakkon said with that same almost Cheshire smile. "The great Uchiha Itachi won't ever break my barrier. I won't let him." Sakkon chuckled happily to himself. "Shizuka-sama and I will be together forever..."

**My love waits for me in daytime,**

His eyes snapped up to meet Itachi's again. "...And I won't let anyone change that."

**But I can see you through the snowblind.

* * *

**

_Sakkon's face turned almost maniac-like, his grip tightening even more so on Shizuka's wrist, causing her to yelp. "You weren't there for my funeral, Shizuka-sama," he said with a huge, scary grin._

**You are gone, I wasn't there for**

_"But I'll make sure, you'll be there for everything else." His smile turned to a smirk as he chuckled low in his throat, pulling her closer by his grip on her wrist._

**Goodbyes are long**

_Shizuka's eyes widened in fear as his face drew closer to hers. "Oh, yes, Shizuka-sama," he whispered, his voice almost a croon now. "You and I, together forever... Just like it should be."_

**I wasn't there for goodbye**

_She gulped, trying to pull away, but his grip on her arm was horrifically strong. _W-What's going on? This... This isn't Sakkon... is it?

**But I wasn't there for goodbye

* * *

**

Itachi stopped pounding in the barrier as Sakkon suddenly burst into laughter. "What?" Itachi snapped, growing thoroughly impatient. Not only was Shizuka's life at stake, but this guy was nuts!

**I know, time reveals in hindsight**

Sakkon continued laughing, but managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter, "I was just thinking... How nice it would be... for Shizuka-sama and I... to sit in the clouds... and watch you... get old and decrepit and... ugly right before our eyes!"

**I can wrestle with the stormy night**

Itachi's face furrowed into a snarl as Sakkon continued, through his laughter. "I can see why... Shizuka-sama would choose you..." Sakkon suddenly stopped laughing, looking at Itachi with an expressionless face. "You're exactly how she described her man to me, when we were little, but..." Sakkon's face grew jeering. "You look like a girl!"

**Because your love lasts a lifetime**

Itachi snarled. "Why are you here, Sakkon?" he said in a deadly whisper. "You said you're going to take Shizuka away from me. Are you really that selfish?"

**But I can see you through the snowblind**

Sakkon glared back. "I won't let anyone take her away from me anymore. They never let me see her unless it was for training. I'm dead now. They can't keep me from her. We'll spend eternity together, as it should have been."

**I wasn't there for you, I wasn't there**

"You'll kill her," Itachi said coldly. "Just for your own sick happiness. What makes you think she'll forget that?"

**I wasn't there for you**

Sakkon smirked. "I have no worries. Forever is a long time. I can make her fall in love with me by then. I was close enough before she ran away. She won't have a choice. She'll have to stay with me, no matter what..." Sakkon started chuckling again.

**I wasn't there for you**

Itachi's eyes widened. "Shizuka!" he shouted, banging on the barrier again. "Shizuka, answer me!"

**You are gone, but I wasn't there for

* * *

**

_Shizuka looked back to where Itachi was, once again, banging on the wall. It's was safe to say, Shizuka was scared. Very scared. And you would be, too, if your deceased best friend had come back as a ghost bent on taking away your soul._

**Goodbyes are long**

_She began scanning for a means of escape; she had already registered that Itachi's banging and screaming of obscenities wasn't getting her anywhere. So, instead, she looked somewhere within the field of grey for assistance. And she found it._

**I wasn't there for goodbye**

_"Sorry, Sakkon," she said softly, making a hand-seal, "but I can't die yet." And with that, she melted down, into her own shadow._

**Goodbye**

_Sakkon's eyes widened, touching the floor where she'd sat, just a moment ago; he whirled around and saw, not to his immediate astonishment, Shizuka crawl back up out of Itachi's shadow on the floor, outside of the barrier.

* * *

_

**Goodbye**

Slowly, the barrier melted away, leaving the three of them alone. Sakkon starred at Itachi and Shizuka, Itachi starred at Shizuka, and Shizuka looked at the floor, not looking at either of them.

Finally, Itachi spoke. "What was that Jutsu?"

Shizuka remained silent, starring at the floor.

"It's nameless," Sakkon answered for her, looking at her, now, as well. "It uses shadows as transportation means, and as a means of offense and defense. She developed it herself."

Itachi continued to stare at Shizuka.

"So..." Sakkon spoke up again, speaking now to Shizuka. "This... is... You'd rather stay here with him?"

Shizuka nodded mutely, still looking at the floor.

Sakkon sighed sadly. "Alright... I knew you'd say no, anyway. But you can't blame me for trying, right?"

Itachi started to open his mouth to say that, actually, he really could blame Sakkon for trying, when the Sound Nin's ghost cut him off.

"You keep your promise, Uchiha," Sakkon ordered, as his colors started to fade. Slowly, he began to disappear, first by his feet, until, finally, only his upper-half remained. "I'll be watching," he added, as, then, his head disappeared, as well.

Itachi starred at the place where Sakkon had been, a moment ago, thoroughly confused (although it didn't show on his face) until he understood.

**Flashback**

_He turned back to the graves and raised one hand before his face in a respectful manner. _Don't worry, Sakkon... I'll take care of her.

**End Flashback**

_Oh... That's what he meant, _Itachi thought with a small smirk, which quickly disappeared as he knelt down next to Shizuka, who had not moved from where she had crawled out of his shadow on the floor. "Shizuka–"

"I'm sorry," she said swiftly, cutting him off, "but I don't think I can stay here anymore."

Itachi faltered, caught off guard, once again, then knelt down next to her. "We'll leave tomorrow. Is that alright?"

She nodded mutely, standing up and crawling under the covers again, her back to him.

Itachi looked at her for a long while, then moved to sit next to her on the bed, his back against the headboard, arms crossed. When she looked up at him in confusion, he stated, to her unasked question, "You think I could sleep after that?" He smirked, pulling her so she used his lap as a pillow. "Go to sleep."

* * *

SONG MATERIAL USED FOR THIS CHAPTER:

_My World, _by SR-71

_Streamline, _by System Of A Down

This chapter is dedicated to those among us who have been in complicated love-triangles. Much love.


	26. Field Of Innocence

**Apprentice**

Hello! So many nice reviews! (Happy face) I'm glad people were able to grasp Sakkon's complete and utter craziness in the last chapter. He was a fixated ghost! (Sort of) I actually went online to study about fixated ghosts and crazy people and how the act and whatnot (I ended up just reading Shaman King and Bleach) and I tried to portray those features. One of the things aboutcrazy people is that they tend to repeat themselves, and mostly all Sakkon said was "I'm sorry but you can't have her" and "We'll live forever" and "You'll never get her back" and all that. So, yes... Sakkon is cracked up. He also said "I'm sorry" a lot, even though we all know he wasn't. (There were a lot of widened eyes in the last chapter, too...)

That chapter was, like, so hard to write, because, originally, it wasn't supposed to be a double-song chapter, it was just supposed to be _My World, _but then I ran out of lyrics (ha-ha) and I had to find another one that would fit. I like _Streamline _(S.O.A.D. 4EVA, YO!) so I decided to use that... I hope it worked.

**Review answers!** (I got so many that I want to respond to, so, yay!)

**Dragonman180**: Yes, I hope you never get a ghost mad at you, either, lol. BTW, Thank you, your review questions really help me develop my storyline. They give me something to think about... So, thanks! (Kenshin grin)

**Rose: **Woot! I'm glad you like it! Normally, people don't like stories with an O.C. as a main character, and this one is really popular! I'm glad you like it! Please keep reading!

**RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin: **You take it all back...? I'm confused, you didn't like their relationship but now you do? What's going on?! Yes, Shizuka has done everything she can do... and yet, she always seems to find something else... Hee hee! Thank you, I'm glad you like it!

**Malitia: **Yes, yay for Itachi, sad-sad for Sakkon... who to chose to pity? Hmm.. I chose Sakkon, I feel bad for him... He is so unloved!

**Dyroness:** Of course something with Sakkon had to happen! You think he'd just lay down and die? Jesus, man, he's too stubborn for that! Lol

**Peter Kim: **Uh... The Atatsuki can't send people to the Chuunin exam... They aren't a village. You have to have a group of Ninjas registered to a certain village in order to do that, and they have a mixed group of ninjas. But thank you for the review! It was very nice and I had to think about it... Please keep reading!

**Kie-san: **Yes, poor Sakkon... He really does love Shizuka, but he is so unloved, it's sad... Y.Y ... But, to be honest, who in their right minds would not love Itachi? I mean, seriously! He's so damn hot! (drool) Thanks for the comment on the lyrics, they're really hard to do and I'm glad someone noticed!

**Tigerwolf: **Yay! I have an anime effect! I'm glad you think it's original... (grin!) Ty for the review please keep reading?

**JapanAnimeGirl: **The end? Oh, god no! There's still so much I have to have done! But don't worry... eventually, there will be an end, but it will be a nice one, I assure you! I hereby swear that there will be no deaths! (Although I'll probably forget...) :)

OH YEAH.... To those interested in Naruto joining the Atatsuki slash going with Shizuka and Itachi's teams... Yeah, read the manga... the last few chapters before Kakashi's story... Naruto can't leave, he's kind of busy! (I don't want to say anything that would give something away...)

Double "Oh yeah," um, I'm thinking about writing an O.A.S. (Obscured Apprentice Storyline) for this story and I need ideas! It's going to be very random, and hopefully funny, and if you have any ideas, please let me know! (Thanks to DM180 for inspiration; that beach comment was hilarious!)

Triple "Oh yeah," I have new Shizuka pics on this comp, and I happen to think I did a pretty good job... I drew a picture of her and Itachi snuggled in my sketchbook, and ti looks pretty good... God I wish I had a scanner!

Omigosh, I'm really close to 200 reviews! Will I get them? Hmm... That's up to you people. I know you're out there, so please review! I (heart) reviews!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Field Of Innocence**

Kisame glanced over to where Itachi and Shizuka were walking in silence behind himself and Gaara. Of course, it was natural for Itachi to walk behind Kisame, as he preferred to walk at his own speed (slow and steady wins the race) but, normally, Shizuka led the pack, walking with Gaara in the front, laughing and joking and making a general nuisance of herself until Itachi called her back to him, after which she would walk with him in the back, deep in intimate conversation. However, today, she was unnaturally quiet, walking slowly in the rear, behind Itachi. In fact, come to think of it, Kisame had not heard her utter a word since...

Well, actually, he hadn't heard her speak at all. She had gone straight to bed after getting out of the hospital, and except for daily walks with Itachi or Gaara, she stayed in her room. He hadn't even heard her speak once.

Finally, the silence was starting to get to him, and he decided to speak. "So, where are we going now?"

"..."

"..."

"Home," Gaara answered, after another ten minutes of silence.

"Oh." _So much for conversation... I should lift the tension. _Kisame thought for a while. Light bulb. "I'm talk about the walk but I'm feeling _horse_! Get it?" He looked around expectantly.

"I wish I didn't," Itachi said out of the corner of his mouth. "We're not even riding."

Kisame sweat-dropped. _So much for lightening the mood. _"Ok, what's wrong?" he asked finally, stopping and turning on Itachi and Shizuka.

Itachi stopped, looking at him expressionlessly. "...?..."

"Neither of you have hardly spoken at all since we left Konoha," Kisame explained. "And yes, I know, Itachi never talks, but what's your excuse?" He looked at Shizuka.

Itachi glanced back at Shizuka, as well. She'd come to a stop about a foot behind him, looking at them blankly. If he hadn't known for a fact that something (or someone...) was troubling her, he would have thought she either didn't know what they were talking about, or simply had nothing to talk about. But, of course, that was not the case.

**Flashback**

"_You're leaving? Already?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, looking up from the many papers she was signing. "Is everything alright?"_

_Itachi nodded. He and Gaara had come alone to give the message to Tsunade that they were leaving. They knew, of course, that their absence left Kisame and Shizuka to stare blankly at each other, but who cared? "We must get back to the Atatsuki. We've spent too long here, and Gaara and Shizuka are starting missions soon so we need to train."_

_Tsunade shrugged, although she looked a little put out. "Well, alright then. It was nice having you, please stop by again." She gave them the necessary papers that would gain them permission to leave Konoha. "Give these to the gate keepers."_

_Itachi took the papers and nodded. With a quick nod of the head, he and Gaara left, leaving Tsunade confused and a little annoyed that she didn't have any S-Classed, scary Nins in her village to brag about anymore._

_Gaara turned to Itachi. "Why are we–"_

"_I just said why," Itachi interrupted. "We have to get back so we can register the two of you for missions." _

**End flashback**

Gaara was not a complete idiot, nor was he dim. He knew something was up with Itachi and Shizuka, and he was rather curious to find out, but he had decided early that morning that he would wait for Shizuka to come talk to him. After all, if you wait for the person in question to want to speak, you get more details, right? Right.

But, God, would it be a trying wait.

**(Later that night)**

There was a heavy silence as the four Atatsuki members sat around a camp fire that Itachi had made with his Fire Element Jutsu. The scenery was almost the same as the last time they camped out, except, this time, there was no energy, no sound, except for the cracking of the fire wood and the rustle of leaves overhead as wind passed through them. Itachi sat cross-legged on a fallen log, his eyes closed, although he wasn't asleep; Kisame sat on a fallen log across the fire from Itachi's, adjusting the bandages encasing his Samahada, as he had nothing better to do; Gaara sat between the logs, his eyes closed, meditating like Naruto had advised him on; Shizuka sat on the ground leaning against Itachi's log, twirling a few strands of black hair around her fingers, using Itachi's knee as a pillow.

After what seemed like a whole eternity, Itachi stood up, drawing the attention of everyone but Gaara, who remained in his meditating position. Itachi brushed off his robes, gave Shizuka a look that told her to follow him, and stalked off into the pitch-black woods.

For reasons unbeknownst to both, Shizuka glanced at Kisame, as if asking whether or not it was safe, and he shrugged, to show he wasn't sure, but knew that Itachi wouldn't attack her, or anything.

Shizuka nodded and stood up, brushing herself off and tracing Itachi's footsteps.

_It is so wrong how we can all talk without speaking, _Kisame thought with a shiver.

Shizuka met Itachi in a small clearing out of earshot of the camp; he stood in the middle of the circle of trees, his back to her, and there was, once again, a silence.

"Um," Shizuka said, in case he hadn't noticed her presence.

"If you and I hadn't..." Itachi began, searching for words, his back still towards her. "If you and I weren't... would you have gone with him?"

Whatever Shizuka had been expecting, it wasn't that. "What?"

"Would you have gone with Sakkon if I wasn't around?" he rephrased.

"...Why are you asking this?" she asked finally, mortally confused.

Itachi turned to look at her; his black-grey eyes were pained, as if saying this were a hardship on him. "Because all day, you've looked disappointed, like you missed out on something. Would you have rather gone with him?"

She didn't answer at once, still caught by the pain in his eyes, before she looked away. "If I hadn't... If you hadn't..." She stopped, remembering.

_'W-What's going on? This... This isn't Sakkon... is it?'_

"No," she said, rather decidedly. "If he had been the same Sakkon that I'd left in Konoha four months ago, maybe I would have gone with him. But he wasn't the same... He changed... The old Sakkon was..." She stopped again, uncomfortable.

"...In love with you," Itachi finished, looking away again.

"Yeah, and he would have done basically anything to make me happy..." She paused yet again, remembering. "Actually... he always tried to make me happy...No matter what, even if it put him in danger with Orochimaru, he wanted to make me happy..." She suddenly stopped herself, looking up at Itachi's back. "I-I'm sorry... I shouldn't say that..."

"..."

Shizuka felt a large weight drop inside her at his silence; it wasn't like his normal silences... This one was sad, pained, almost angry.... "I'm sorry," she repeated in desperation. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for hurting you...." She felt her voice break. "I'm always... hurting the people I love... I'm... I'm so sorry..." She gulped, her eyes burning, willing away the tears she knew would come if she didn't stop them.

Finally, he spoke. "I'm not angry at you," he said softly, causing her to look up at him. "And I'm not even mad at Sakkon. I suppose I'm angry that the two of you have a history. I've only known you for a little while, and he's known you all your life." He turned to give her a small smile, beckoning her to come closer, which she did, and he encircled her in his arms, folding her against him ever so gently while she cried (or, rather, tried not to cry). "I'm just jealous, that's all. I'm a guy, and Sakkon's a guy, and we can't help being idiots." He ran his thumb under her eyes; it came away wet. "But _I_ love you, so I can understand why he would drive himself crazy over you." He pressed his lips against her forehead. "I would have done the same thing, in his position."

Shizuka's eyes widened, and, for a split second, she forgot that she was trying to ignore the fact that she was trying not to cry. _Did... Did Itachi just say he loved me... with _wordsShe starred at his throat as he rested his lips against her forehead, trying to remember a single time when he had said he loved her. She couldn't find any.

A thought occurred to her. "Itachi."

"Hmm."

"I need to go to Oto." She looked up at him determinedly. "It's personal."

Orochimaru watched calmly as Kabuto and Sasuke trained before him (A/N: In case you haven't read the recent mangas in the 200 region, Orochimaru now has a new body temporarily, and it's really cute! Well... it was....). His container was getting strong, indeed; Kabuto was barely a match for him anymore. Three years would pass, and his Sasuke-container would be amazingly strong; strong enough to kill the Kyuubi's medium, and then, Orochimaru's plans would be complete.

But... something was bothering him, in the back of his mind, a nagging little voice was yelling at him to remember something, but, for some reason, he couldn't remember it to save his life.

_BOOM!_

Orochimaru jumped halfway out of his borrowed body. A huge explosion echoed through the head quarters, rattling window panes. Sasuke stopped in mid-kick, looking around. "What was that?"

"An explosion," Kabuto answered, as if it were not obvious. He ducked under Sasuke's foot and crossed the room to a monitor, turning it on and waiting for the image to appear.

Sasuke and Orochimaru looked at each other, then Sasuke went to stand at Kabuto's shoulder, squinting to make out the image.

"I can't see it," Sasuke stated bluntly.

Kabuto gave him a swift look, then twiddled a small dial on the keyboard, bringing the image into focus. His eyes widened. "Orochimaru-sama.."

"Who is it?" Orochimaru asked casually.

"There are... two Atatsuki members in the tunnel leading in, and..." He adjusted to another scene. "...Two standing guard outside." He turned to look at his master. "Do you think they reconsidered our offer?"

Orochimaru shrugged, looking none-too-concerned. "Go greet our guests, Kabuto."

Kabuto starred at him for a moment, rather nervous about meeting two stranger Atatsuki members alone, but nodded anyway and stepped out into the hall. Sasuke frowned and looked back at the scene, touching the button Kabuto had to change the scene, making the image switch back to the hallway. Something didn't feel right...

Orochimaru suddenly smacked his hand into his palm as if he'd just had a stroke of brilliant insight. "Now I remember. Speaking of Atatsuki, Shizuka's out to kill me."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, it's something to think about." Orochimaru shrugged, sitting back in his chair.

Sasuke shook his head and turned back to the screen. Kabuto was approaching the two Atatsuki members standing in the hall. There was a low murmur of voices before a thick, crawling... something... grabbed Kabuto by the foot and lifted him into the air, slamming him into the wall, undoubtedly knocking him out. Sasuke winced, then gave a small gasp, remembering; he knew exactly (he thought) what that crawling something was...

_Gaara..._

One of the Atatsuki members moved to stand in the middle of the hall, right in the center of the camera shot, and shouted up at it, "Orochimaru!"

Sasuke turned to Orochimaru as the Atatsuki member kept shouting at the camera. "They want you, not Kabuto."

Orochimaru smirked, resting his chin in his head. "Let's hope they know where to find me, then."

Sasuke shrugged and turned back to the screen in time to see the Atatsuki member who had been shouting, bite their thumb and make a hand-seal.

"**_Kuchiyose No Jutsu_**!" There was an explosion of smoke before the screen went fuzzy.

Sasuke turned back to Orochimaru again. "What was–"

_**BOOM!**_

The wall behind the monitor exploded, hurling Sasuke back; chunks of wall and stone flew everywhere through the smoke. Sunlight poured into the room as the ceiling was blown away, as well. A whole half of the room was gone; through the smoke and dust, a humongous shadow loomed through. The sound of crashing echoed through the wood as the shadow drew closer. Finally, the dust and smoke cleared, revealing an unearthly huge, purple, horned snake; standing atop it's head, at least a hundred feet above Sasuke's head, were the two Atatsuki members who had been standing in the hallway. Some ways down the snake's body, where the door to the head quarters would have been, stood the other two Atatsuki.

Orochimaru's eyes widened. "Manda?!"

"Hello, Orochimaru," said one of the Atatsuki members on the so-called Manda's head; they remove their traveling hat, revealing long, black hairand an Oto forehead protector with a deep gnash through it. "I'm home." Shizuka smirked.

* * *

Wow! Finally! God that was hard to write! I don't know why... it just was... That scene with Itachi and Shizuka was really hard, since it's so mushy, and drawing mushy scenes with other people (glares at mom's boyfriend/fiancé) in the room is embarrassing.

I got online last night, and got every single Itachi picture, or group picture with Itachi in it, known to man. Kyah! I'm happy! Itachi is a sexy bitch!

(Glomps)

Itachi: Get off.

Neji: (streaming tears) I thought I was your favorite sexy bitch!

Aww... (pets Neji) You are... but only when I'm writing a fic for you! Don't worry, I will love you lots when I get around to writing _Purity Of White _again!

Neji: (ego recovers) Who cares?

-.-' Review! (Kenshin grin)

Kyuubi: I haven't said anything in a while..

Then say something!

Kyuubi:...

SNG: ....?

Kyuubi:....

SNG, Itachi & Neji: ...?

Kyuubi: I DRIVE A PICKLE MOBILE!

SNG, Itachi & Neji: (fall over anime style)


	27. Immortal Wounds

**Apprentice**

(Reads last chapter of Naruto) Go, Kakashi! (Cheers) (cries) Obito.... (snif..) Ok! I'm alright, no worries. ....That was so sad!! (cries)

On the bright side, I'm in major angst/sadness mode, so I can write good chapters now! (Someone said the last chapter wasn't up to snuff... I know that! You didn't have to tell me!)

ANYWAY... I put this in _Purity Of White _and I'm putting it in here, too. I want to write another romance... yeah. I like writing romances. (Shifty eyes) So, everyone vote for their favorite Naruto guy, and I will write a romance for him! Yes, yes, yes! The pairings all depend on who the guy is. I tend to like to go completely crazy and do pairings no one would ever think of. Like, seriously, who would ever think Itachi and Shizuka would end up together?

Anyway, the person who gets the most votes, I will try to write a romance for, and, hopefully, it will turn out ok... (Who knows, I may pull a Kankurou-Sakura... NO! WAIT! Kan-kun belongs to Kyu! Ok, never mind...) PLEASE VOTE!!!

Note: Sand-nin-gurl REALLY HATES Sasuke.

Kyuubi: Me, too!

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Immortal Wounds**

"Hello, Orochimaru. I'm home." Shizuka smirked down at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stared up at her, completely bewildered; Sasuke starred, as well, more out of confusion then anything else. Orochimaru had showed him Manda before, and told him the specifications of summoning, in that, you must make a treaty with your creature. So... why was Manda with Shizuka?

Sasuke's eyes flicked down the length of the snake, to where the other two Atatsuki members were standing; one carried a _samahada. _The other, most definitely, had to be Itachi. Sasuke growled, jumping into the air, drawing a kunai as he did, and making a rush at the shorter of the two Atatsuki standing on the Manda's mid-section. He barely came within a foot of him, however, before he was dragged to a stop by a grip on his ankle.

"You're not going to touch her, Sasuke," said a calm, feminine voice.

Sasuke whirled around. Shizuka gave him a cold look before bursting into a puff of smoke, replaced with Itachi. "But, then–" Sasuke turned to the Atatsuki member he'd believed to be his brother, in time to see that one, also, disappear in a puff of smoke, to be replaced by Shizuka. Henge.

"Don't worry, Itachi," the real Shizuka said with a smirk. "My fight is, after all, with him. Without him, Orochimaru won't be able to survive."

Itachi shrugged, letting go of Sasuke's ankle, letting the boy drop.

Sasuke scoffed. "I don't care who I fight, as long as it's him I'm killing, in the end."

Shizuka gave him a small, understanding smile. "All the more reason for me to have to kill you first, then?"

The dust still lingering from the explosion fell into Sasuke's eyes; he blinked; she was gone.

"Then, again..."

Sasuke gasped when he felt a kunai pressed against his neck. _I didn't even feel her!_

"..I doubt you will die quietly, will you?" Shizuka smiled at him, holding the kunai against his neck, standing behind him. The hand holding the kunai twitched; the blade embedded itself in a log that appeared in a puff of smoke. Shizuka stepped back, looking around calmly. "Where?"

"Above."

Shizuka looked up in time to counter the axe-kick Sasuke dealt her. Grabbing his foot, she flung him away from herself. Focusing chakra to his feet and hands, Sasuke caught himself cat-like, skidding a few feet. Coming to a stop, he smirked. _She's good... Better finish her off quick._

Drawing a kunai, Sasuke made a rush at her, pulling it back. He saw her lips form a gasp of surprise.

"Please stop bull shitting."

"?!" Sasuke whirled around to have a ringed fist connect with his face; he sailed backwards into the Shizuka-bunshin, causing it to disappear, although it did serve to stop him.

"I know you can do more then that," the real Shizuka said in an almost rebuking voice. "Don't let me think Orochimaru has been wasting his time on a puny, powerless little weakling that I can defeat this easily." She smiled again. "You wouldn't want my respecting image of my father to be destroyed, now, would you?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Father?!"

She nodded, pointing to Orochimaru, who stood in mortal shock by his chair, the only thing in the room not destroyed. "Yep. My dear ol' dad." Her smile widened. "Can't you see the family resemblance?"

Sasuke's eyes flicked from Shizuka, then to Orochimaru, then back again. At first, he wasn't sure what she was talking about, then, as she titled her head to the side ever so slightly, her hair moved to cover the left side of her face, and he saw.

A feminine version of Orochimaru.

His eyes widened. _Shit! That guy..._ He glanced down at the bewildered Orochimaru, _...There are more of him?!_

"I repeat," Shizuka said in a somewhat serious voice. "Please stop bull shitting. You're barely even trying. I plan on killing you, and when I kill someone, I like..." Her yellow, purple-rimmed eye gleamed. "I like to hear the scream of defeat... The agonizing look of failure in the victim's eye, as the fact that they tried their best, and yet couldn't win, slowly sinks into them."

Shizuka smirked, chuckling softly. Slowly, the chuckle turned into a laugh, which gained volume and mocking tones as she threw her head back and laughed outright. "The world we live in would be a beautiful place, if people died like that all the time!" she crowed, her laughter echoing through the trees.

Sasuke growled. "Don't underestimate me!" he roared, making a seal to summon chakra, rushing towards her. Disappearing barely a foot away from her, he reappeared at her feet, kicking upward, his foot connecting with her jaw. She flew upwards, a look of shock in her eyes, her head still thrown back. Crouching down, Sasuke disappeared again, reappearing a few inches below her, in her exact stance; touching two fingers to her back, he hissed, "**_Leaf Shadow Dance._**"

Shizuka's eyes widened, turning her head back to look at him. "You–"

Sasuke smirked. "I haven't used this technique in a long time. But I'm sure that, for you, I can get it right again." Using one hand to push her to the side slightly, he used the other to slam his fist into her face, sending her flying downward again, past him.

Gaara, standing on the Manda's head still, had a few flashbacks from the preliminary rounds of the chuunin exam and, eyes wide, he cursed, sending the sand as fast as he could. _If he uses that Jutsu... Shit! Make it in time!_

"**_Lion Rendan_**!" Sasuke flipped over above her, slamming his foot into her chest, sending her towards the ground. Sasuke smirked. _It's over..._ His eyes widened. _What?!_

Slowly, Shizuka's momentum slowed down, until, barely a foot away from the ground, she came to a complete stop. Sasuke's eyes widened even more as a bed of sand formed under her. His eyes flicked over to Gaara, on the Manda's head. _Che! That guy..._

Shizuka sat up on the sand and glanced up at Gaara. "Hey, thanks," she called, stepping up off the sand.

"..."

Itachi took a long, deep, settling breath, resting his hand over his heart under his Atatsuki cloak. _I almost ran in to catch her. My heart's pounding... Maybe it wasn't a good idea to set her against Sasuke... She tends to toy with people... Sasuke knows she is, and he won't stand for that. All toying with him with accomplish is infuriating him more... _Itachi closed his eyes. _End it now, Shizuka!_

Shizuka shook her head, shaking off the unsettling feeling she'd just gotten. "Nice technique," she commented to Sasuke when he landed down about twenty feet away from her. Using the back of her hand, she wiped blood off her chin. "If Gaara hadn't stopped you, I'd be in a world of pain right now, wouldn't I?"

Sasuke smirked. "That was the idea."

"But..." Shizuka went back to smiling. "Your fighting style really isn't that interesting, is it?"

Sasuke scowled. "What?"

Shizuka shrugged. "Apart from the lovely Gaia seal on your shoulder, and the _chidori, _you don't really have much, do you? You see, I talked to a few of your friends from Konoha, as well as Gaara, and I know how you fight now."

Sasuke growled. _Damn Naruto!_

"Sasuke." Her voice pulled his attention back to Shizuka. "If you stay here, you won't have the same life you did in Konoha." Her voice was low, and serious. "You'll have no one.Your life will be completely miserable." She cast her eyes down."Trust me on this. You won't get any stronger here, and you won't be able to achieve your goals. You'll be empty. You won't have anyone here, no one to understand you, no one to understand when you're suffering inside."

Sasuke growled, "How would you know?!"

"...How would I know...?" Shizuka looked down to where Kabuto's unconscious body was laying beside Gaara, and then to Orochimaru; her eyes lingered on him for a moment, a frown across her eyes ever so slightly. Then, she looked back to Sasuke. "These people... I've known them since I was born. I called Orochimaru my father, and Kabuto acted like the mother I didn't have. They took care of me, taught me Jutsus, and even gave me friends." She looked down at her hand, remembering. "...Such good friends..."

**Flashback**

"_Oi... Shizuka-sama?" Kidoumaru approached her, looking meek for once._

_Shizuka turned, giving him a questioning look._

"_Erm..." Kidoumaru looked away. "Kabuto-san... asked me to make dinner today... Do you... like, wanna help me?"_

_Shizuka smiled brightly and nodded._

_**A few minutes later...**_

"_Ack! Shizuka-sama! That's too much danshi! This is miso soup, not danshi soup!"_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

"_...Now put your third finger on the fourth hole..." Tayuya placed her own third finger on the fourth hole of her flute, waiting for Shizuka to do the same. "And blow."_

_Shizuka blew as instructed, but all that came out was a great deal of saliva. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Tayuya._

"_...Looks like we have some work to do..."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

"_I am going to beat you at this eating contest, Shizuka-sama!" Jiroubou cried, picking up his bowl of rice and his chopsticks._

"_No, you're not!" Shizuka's voice shouted through Sakkon's lips._

"_A scrawny little girl like you can never beat me!"_

"_Oh, it's on, fat-man!"_

"_I've never seen them so... into it..." Sakkon said slowly, watching the two scarf down countless bowls of rice and other dishes._

_Kimimaru didn't say anything, starring at Jiroubou and Shizuka in utmost horror, his chopsticks poises before his face, the rice they once carried now on his shirt._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

"_Let's be friends forever, Shizuka."_

"'_Forever'?" Shizuka repeated, using his vocal chords. "What's that?"_

"'_Forever'? Well..." Sakkon scratched his chin. "I guess it means we'll always be friends because we won't ever hurt each other."_

"_You promise?" Shizuka starred up at him innocently._

_Sakkon nodded, and said at once, "Yeah, I promise. 'Till forever, then?"_

_Shizuka nodded, smiling. "Mm!"_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_Shizuka and Kimimaru sat cross-legged in an open, grassy field, their hands on their knees, eyes closed. Occasionally, the wind would blow through, rustling their hair and clothes, but they never moved._

"_Focus your conscious," Kimimaru said in a low, soft voice, "and find your inner-peace. A ninja can only perfect his jutsus when he has perfected peace. Without peace, you cannot concentrate on other things.... Focus..."_

**End flashback**

Shizuka smiled slightly, looking down at her hands. Then, looking determined again, she looked up at Sasuke. "I'm only going to ask you this once. Will you _please_ go home?"

Sasuke smirked. "I'm giving you the same answer I gave them: no."

Shizuka sighed. "Then there's nothing I can do to change your mind." She looked up at him, smirking. "I'll have to kill you, then. Killing you is the only way I can stop Orochimaru's ambitions for now."

Sasuke smirked. "I would like to see you try." But, inside, he was less confident. _This girl is good... Almost as good as Itachi... Orochimaru had said something about Itachi maybe taking an apprentice, and, knowing Itachi.... his apprentice would have to be the best of the best already. _He smirked. _I'll just get rid of her now... Won't that just eat your guts out, Itachi?_

Moving to a kneeling position, Sasuke let his hands fly to form several hand seals.

_Horse!_

_Tiger!_

Shizuka's eyes widened. _Shit!_

"**_Katon Goukakyuu No Jutsu_**!"

Flames erupted from Sasuke's mouth, engulfing the spot where Shizuka had been standing, on the Manda. Itachi, standing next to Manda where he had jumped down during the fight, shielded his face with his arms; the heat was almost unbearable.

When Sasuke felt the job had been finished, he quickly discontinued the fire to see the result. He smirked; the spot she had been standing on was slightly singed; not even her bones were left. He glanced down at his brother. _There goes your 'best of the best" student, Itachi. _

Itachi's eyes widened. _Shizuka...? _He glanced around quickly, feeling out for her chakra. _Come on, Shizuka, stop hiding... I know you're around here somewhere..._

"That's too bad," Sasuke said loudly from the Manda's mid section. "She looked like a good person, and a good fighter. Too bad she had to be such an arrogant bitch."

Itachi's eyes widened, but he quickly looked down, casting his eyes into shadow, so his little brother couldn't see.

**Flashback**

**W-Well... **_She laughed nervously._** You're not that bad-looking, are you...? I mean... Didn't anyone ever tell you that before...?**

_Itachi continued to stare at her. "No one's ever said that."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

"_Well, you tell this 'squirrel' that if he comes near you again, I'll kill him." Itachi caught his breath quickly. "I didn't mean–"_

**It's ok... It sounds nice coming from you, in this case. **_She gave him a small smile, leaning forward to kiss him again._

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

**I know but... **_She didn't meet his eyes, starring down at his arm as she mechanically bandaged it. _**Some of these missions of yours can get dangerous, and I don't want you to...**

"_Hey, don't cry on me, now."_

**I'm not crying! **_She shouted. _**I just...**

She doesn't want me to _die..._

**End flashback**

Itachi's eyes lifted to glare at Sasuke. "Sasuke..."

Sasuke halted slightly, looking down at him. _Wha... His eyes changed?_

"I'll kill you!" Itachi roared, jumping up, his chakra leaving a mark on the ground he'd been standing on.

Sasuke's eyes widened as Itachi's fist connected with his face, then his gut, before letting him fly.

**Flashback**

"_...Well..." He cleared his throat a little. However, realization crawled on Shizuka before he could explain, and she whopped him good. "Ow!"_

**Pervert!**

"_Can we make that an invalid pervert?" he asked, rubbing his head. "You want to give me brain damage, as well?"_

**End flashback**

_I'm going to kill you, _Itachi thought angrily, Sharingan flashing, his fists and knees and feet connecting with every part of Sasuke he could reach, attacking his little brother with furious rage. _You killed her...._

**Flashback**

"_You're stupid. No guy would put up with the stuff you just described unless he was in love. It's a fact." He shrugged._

_She starred at him._ Oh, really?

"_Really."_

_She smirked evilly._** Do you love me Itachi?**

"_..."_

**Do you?** _She looked him in the eye._

_Shrug._

**You're blushing, Itachi-kun.**

"_No I'm not."_

**End flashback**

_You killed her... _Itachi grabbed Sasuke's head and slammed his knee into it, then moved his knee out of the way again and, putting his fists together, slammed them into Sasuke's back. _You _killed _her..._

**Flashback**

_I smile slightly and gather her into my arms again, rolling over so she is laying on top of me. The need to protect returns. _

_She squirms a little, pulling on my chin until I look down at her. Amusement and satisfaction swirl in me. I found happiness and completion in her._

**End flashback**

Itachi grabbed one of Sasuke's feet and slammed him into the ground, creating a large dent. Then, jumping up for falling momentum, heslammed his elbow into Sasuke's chest. _You killed _her!

**Flashback**

"_I was saying," Kisame continued in an annoyed voice, "it's really selfish of you to keep at... this... just because you want a piece of ass, not to mention it's totally irresponsible."_

_Itachi's eyes narrowed. "'A piece of ass'?"_

**End flashback**

Sasuke hacked up blood as Itachi repeatedly pounded his fists into Sasuke's stomach. _You killed her... You _killed _her... _You _killed her... _Slowly, little rocks, created by the dent under Sasuke's back, floating up around them, carried by Itachi's chakra, which flowed out from his body freely and unchecked.

**Flashback**

_Shizuka's face smiled up at him, her arms around his. "Itachi-kun!"_

**End flashback**

Itachi kicked Sasuke away from him, letting the younger boy skip and skid like a stone over water for about twenty feet, then drew a kunai.

Sasuke attempted at sitting up, the back of his hand against his lip; every inch of him was in pain. About fifty feet away, Orochimaru finally made an advance, knowing for a fact that Itachi was out for vicious blood, but was stopped by Kisame's _samahada. _"This isn't your fight," the blue man growled.

"You killed her," Itachi repeated in a low, deadly voice, walking slowly towards Sasuke, his head down, eyes blazing. "I'll never forgive you."

* * *

Hell yeah! Itachi beats the shit outta Sasuke!

Coincidentally... System Of A Down's lead singer won an award in _Revolver_ magazine for "Most Interesting Voice." I gotta say, I agree... His voice rocks!

Perhaps I shall do a tribute to this and make the next chapter be a song chapter... yes, no? Maybe?

Are you people sick of my song chapters yet?

Anyway, PLEASE VOTE FOR MY NEXT FIC PLEASE!


	28. The Music Of Your Soul

**Apprentice**

Ok, you know what people? Lets' take a look into the life of an authoress, shall we?

Step 1: Authoress works for SIX MONTHS developing the idea for a fan fic

Step 2: Authoress is unsure about pairings, so asks readers (that's you) to vote for them.

Step 3: Readers vote (results shown below)

Step 4: Authoress puts fourteen hours of her time into writing the first chapter, making it absolutely perfect by her pick standards, including grammar, study into Japanese school customs, and a few sleepless nights.

Step 5: Authoress posts brand new work of art.

Step 6: Authoress waits five hours.

Step 7: AUTHORESS GETS THREE MEASLY REVIEWS!!

What's wrong with this picture? Oh, oh, I know! The part where NONE of the readers from this fic review it! (Death glare) Not even people out of my NINE regular reviewers reviewed for this story! Jesus, did it suck that bad? Or did you guys not know? Ok, I'll tell you.

MY NEW ROMANCE FIC IS OUT, DAMN YOU! If I'm on your author-alert list (which 74 of you are) you should have gotten the notice. What is the DEAL, people?! You all voted for it!

Ok, yes, I did get a little impatient and wrote the fic before waiting for the whole week I promised before posting, but still!

PLEASE go check out my new fic, called _Crimson Love!!_ Shizuka's in it... (shifty eyes) But you'll understand when you read the authoress notes.

**Final vote for new romance fic:**

Itachi: 7

Kakashi: 2

Shino: 1

Lee: 1

Neji: 8

Naruto: 2

Iruka (?!?!): 1

Haku: 1

Gaara: 4

Shukaku-sama: 1

You can judge how great the focus on the pairings will be by how many votes their respective males got. Neji and Itachi's pairings (which is actually a love-triangle. -V-) are, obviously, the ones with the most focus, by popular choice. The next is Gaara, whose pairing I haven't decided yet, followed by Naruto and Kakashi. I'm working on this still, so bare with me!

(Clings to security blanket)

P.S.: To (insert reviewer's name here -sorry I suck with names-), just because I wrote an Orochimaru's child fic doesn't mean you can't! Knock yourself out! I'm not the first person who did one of these! (Kenshin grin)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Music Of Your Soul**

"You killed her," Itachi growled, fist draw back. "I'll never forgive you."

Sasuke fell backwards, utterly petrified, as his brother leaped up, fist drawn back, ready to punch his brains out.

**Flashback**

"_Nii-san!"_

**End flashback**

TWHACK.

There was a dead silence through the woods. Not even the birds sang. The wind didn't blow through the trees, letting the leaves ruffle. Kisame closed his eyes, turning away.

Sasuke's eyes widened, glancing to the side of his face. Itachi's fist was embedded in the Manda's scaly flesh, barely an inch away from Sasuke's head.

Manda, realizing this, screamed, "Kyaaaargh! What's the big idea, you bastard?! If Shizuka hadn't made me swear not to, I would eat you right now! That hurts, dammit!"

Itachi grunted, yanking his fist out of the Manda's flesh, and stood up, swaying slightly, and jumped down off the Manda, walking slowly away into the woods, staggering like a drunken man, not once looking back at the little brother he'd left alive, once again.

**Flashback**

"_Some day," Itachi said solemnly, "I'll be walking down this street, with my ANBU mask and vest."_

_His father smiled warmly. "And I'll be watching you, and I'll be very proud that you are my son."_

_Itachi looked down at his father. "Really?" _

_His father nodded. "Just be sure to work hard."_

_Itachi nodded eagerly. "Don't worry! I'll learn everything I can! I'll work all night, every night, and be the best I can be!"_

_His father nodded again. "You are my son. Be sure you don't disappoint me."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

_His mother smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "You don't have to worry about being weird. One of these days, you're going to find someone who you can be yourself around, and they won't think you're weird. And when you do, you know what you have to do?"_

_Itachi shook his head, starring up at his mother with wide, adoring eyes._

_She smiling, hugging him to her gently. "You must keep them, and cherish them, forever. Just as I cherish you." She gave him a squeeze before holding him away from her ever so slightly. "You're a very important person, Itachi. You're different from other people. You need love and acknowledgment more then the rest of us. And because of this, when you finally do find the right person for you, you'll hold her tighter then anything else."_

"_Ew, girls?" Itachi grimaced, sticking his tongue out._

**End flashback**

_Kasaan... I... _Itachi grimaced slightly, his hand holding his side for no apparent reason. He had forgotten, or rather, chosen to forget, his mothers' words after he'd made his promise to his father, barely four days later.

His mother had been right about one thing, out of many: he certainly did need acknowledgment, and to a four year old boy, acknowledgment from his father was one of the most important things to him.

After a few moments of thought and calculation, as well as a flash of insight, Itachi realized, _The Jounin and ANBU introduction ceremony was on the 28 of January, fourteen years ago, so... _He thought for a moment or so. _Kasaan told me that on Shizuka's birthday the year she was born._

Damn, but he hated irony.

Sighing inaudibly, he kept walking. Slowly, the memories consumed again.

**Flashback**

"_You and I are interesting brothers, so we should stay together, even if we hate each other."_

**End flashback**

**Flashback**

"_Nii-san... Why? Why did you kill them?!"_

**End flashback**

_I never told you this, Sasuke, _Itachi thought, glancing over his shoulder; the trees had consumed the scene he'd left behind. A huge burst of smoke told him the Manda had disappeared. _For a long time... I believed you were the person Kasaan was talking about... Because you and I were so alike... I left you alive for that reason... and I still leave you alive... because I can't let go of the brotherly times we had..._

Itachi turned away. _I was wrong, of course. I found the person I was going to cherish..._

**Flashback**

"_I have lived hating you.... I HAVE LIVED FOR THIS DAY!"_

**End flashback**

_...But you wouldn't allow_ _me that happiness, would you, little brother? _Itachi's face turned into a glare again. He turned around again, his hate renewed. _You won't let me be happy... because you yourself chose that you won't be happy. _Fists clenches, he retraced his steps. _I'll put you out of the misery I thrust you in, little brother... and then I'll torment you forever... in hell._

Kisame turned when Itachi broke the clearing again. "Itachi-san!" he called, grinning his huge, sharp-toothed grin. "Orochimaru and Sasuke left, but even better news! We found her!"

Itachi stopped dead.

"She jumped out of the way of the fire and hid under the curve of the Manda's stomach, but she hit her head and now she's unconscious!" Kisame looked ecstatic. "She's alright!"

Itachi slowly walked towards them, his eyes on the limp figure laying at Kisame's feet. She was alright. She wasn't dead. No way in hell could someone like Sasuke beat her with such an open attack. She was alright.

Itachi fell to his knees before her unconscious form, starring down at her. Kisame and Gaara couldn't see his face, and, for a few minutes, there was another deathly silence.

"Kisame..." Itachi finally croaked, looking up at his team mate. To the Ex-Mist-Nin's immediate shock, and, somewhat, horror, there were small, unnoticed tears streaming down the Uchiha's cheeks. "Thank you..."

"Er.... D-Don't mention it..."

* * *

**THE END.**

PHEW. Jesus Christ, that is the longest thing I've ever written! 28 chapters, counting the prolog! (Faints)

(Quickly recovers)

I wrote this fic while I was listening to Slipknot's _Duality,_ which I just downloaded off animemusicvideos dot org. It was a Neji AMV! I was happy! Anyway, music after the intro to that song is sort of the music for the beginning of the chapter. You know, that really quick part between "_Jesus, it never ends, it works it's way inside... If the pain goes on... Aaaaaah!"_ and _"I've screamed until my veins collapsed, I've waited as my time's elapsed." _Yeah, that solo right there is for the part were Itachi "punches" Sasuke.

Then, for the flashback-part (I am the queen of flashbacks), listen to _Missing _by Evanescence. If you don't have the song, you suck, but here's the lyrics anyway, so you can see why I chose this song. It's from Shizuka's P.O.V. so pay attention (even if she didn't really die...).

Please, please forgive me,  
But I won't be home again.  
Maybe someday you'll look up,  
And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:  
"Isn't something missing?"

You won't cry for my absence, I know -  
You forgot me long ago.  
Am I that unimportant...?  
Am I so insignificant...?  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?

Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?

Please, please forgive me,  
But I won't be home again.  
I know what you do to yourself,  
I breathe deep and cry out,  
"Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?"

Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't something missing?

And if I bleed, I'll bleed,  
Knowing you don't care.  
And if I sleep just to dream of you  
I'll wake without you there,  
Isn't something missing?Isn't something...

Even though I'm the sacrifice,  
You won't try for me, not now.  
Though I'd die to know you love me,  
I'm all alone.  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?

I'm so sorry I ended it like that! I just had zip-n-zero inspiration for this anymore! If I kept it up, I knew I would just start babbling about... Yeah. The story would wander. Better to end it here and let all that's done be done. I hope you enjoyed it! I certainly did! R&R _Crimson Love!_

Now, excuse me, I am off to get some well-deserved sleep.


	29. The Continuation: Absurdly Appalling App...

**Apprentice:**

**The Continuation**

**Absurdly Appalling Apprentices**

"Shizuka?"

"Snore…"

"Shizuka?"

"Sno-o-ore…."

"Shizuka!"

"Sno-o-o-o-o-o-ore…."

"Shizuka!"

"Sno-o-o-o—Yawn."

"**_SHIZUKA!_**"

"AAAAAAAH!" Shizuka tumbled off the bed, taking the covers and pillows with her. She quickly jumped up, going into a frantic fighting stance. "Who there!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her, putting the megaphone down. "I've been calling you for two hours now. When were you planning on waking up?"

Shizuka grumbled darkly, sitting down on the bed again, picking up a piece of paper from the desk. "I want to know who sent us this stupid-ass invitation," she mumbled, holding it up.

Sasuke suddenly appeared out of no where, screaming "I'LL KILL YOU, ITACHI!"

Moosh.

Itachi pulled his fist out of Sasuke's face then calmly turned to Shizuka. "What's the invitation to?"

"'You are cordially invited to the best hot springs and beach resort of your life, 'tte ba yo!'" Shizuka read. She threw the orange piece of paper away. "Something about the 'tte ba yo is bothering me, though… it sounds familiar…"

"Shall we?" He gestured to the shower. She smiled coyly and followed him.

Sakkon suddenly appeared. "YOU WILL NOT DISGRACE SHIZUKA-SAMA IN SUCH—"

Moosh.

Shizuka smiled at Itachi as they went into the bathroom, leaving Sakkon with a large bump on his head, next to Sasuke.

* * *

Gaara glared up at the ceiling while he and Kisame attempted to eat breakfast. However, it was very hard to enjoy the first meal of the day when there was incessant giggling and laughing and water running going on upstairs.

Suddenly, the voices starting carrying downstairs.

"No, Itachi! Don't put it there! It won't fit!"

"Sure, it will. It fit all the other times, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but I don't remember it being so big!"

"It'll fit ok?"

Gaara and Kisame's eyes widened as a loud thumping was heard from the bathroom, which just so happened to be right above the dining room. The thumping was accompanied by shouting.

"Faster! Come on, Itachi, up and down!"

"I'm trying!"

"Well, try harder!"

"Let me work, dammit!"

"Ah, man, it's getting fuller! Come on, seriously, hurry up!"

"I'm trying, I said!"

Gaara and Kisame looked at each other, then ran upstairs to tell the two to shut the hell up and get a grip. They stopped outside the bathroom door when they heard an odd sound.

"Oh great, real smooth. Now it's all over the floor. How are we going to explain this?"

"I don't know, let's just clean it all up before—"

Kisame slammed the door open, glaring down at them in disgust, fearing the worst would be before his eyes.

However, he was met by a much more interesting sight.

Itachi and Shizuka, both still wearing pajamas, were standing in the middle of the bathroom. The bathroom floor was an inch deep in water, and Itachi held a plunger in one hand. The two in the bathroom looked at the two starring ones oddly. "What?" they asked coldly before walking past.

Gaara and Kisame looked at each other. "Were they…?"

"I've never been so disgusted in all my life…" Gaara rubbed his head.

* * *

"I love road trips!" Shizuka cried, climbing all over the back seat, trying to look out the window. "Road trips rock!"

"Will you sit still?" Kisame snapped for the fifteenth time that day. "How can you be this energetic, this early?"

"Oh, leave me alone!" she snapped, pulling the lower lid of her eye down at him.

"At least she's not killing us," Gaara pointed out.

"MMMMPH!" Sakkon shouted against his gag, where he and Sasuke were toed up on the floor.

"What?" Shizuka asked curiously, leaning down to look at him.

"MMMPH!"

"I can't hear you…"

"_MMMMMPH!_"

"Can't you talk right?"

* * *

"I feel sick…" Kidoumaru mumbled, feeling his stomach. "I hate cars…"

"Quit your whining, maggot," Tayuya snapped, glaring at him.

"Where's Sakkon?" Ukon asked curiously, noticing for the first time that his younger twin wasn't present.

"I think he said something about being a knight in shining armor before he left this morning." Kabuto shrugged. "He probably just went to see Shizuka."

"So he must be on the other bus, huh?" Ukon frowned, whipping out a lap top (God knows where he got it). "I'm going to yell at him."

While Ukon typed, Orochimaru frowned at the invitation they had received. "This is still bothering me… 'You're invited to spend a day at the best hot springs and beach resort you've ever seen! And guess what else? You're wonderful daughter is going to be there! P.S. Sasuke-kun rocks'. Doesn't that bother you?"

"Not really, Orochimaru-sama."

* * *

"We got an Instant Message," Itachi said, cutting off Shizuka's tormenting of Sakkon and Sasuke, who she was currently poking with a stick. "It's from someone called 'Alpha-Beta54'… Do we know them?"

"That's Ukon!" Shizuka said cheerfully, pulling the lap top away from him. "Lookit, Sakkon, your brother's talking! It says 'Sakkon, what are you doing on a bus with those…' LOSERS? How dare he call us losers?" Fuming darkly, she wrote back.

MrRedEyes: Because these people ROCK, DAMMIT!

Shizuka raised an eyebrow at the screen name. "Mr. Red-Eyes?" she repeated, looking at Itachi.

He glared. "I never use it."

* * *

Ukon raised an eyebrow at the response. "What the fuck?"

Tayuya frowned, taking the lap top from him. "We are so much cooler then them, dammit!" she snapped, typing that.

* * *

"They wrote back." Itachi pointed to the screen.

Shizuka glared at the response. "Damn her!"

* * *

"'Hell no, you are not cooler then us, I hope Orochi-daddy kills you'?"

Alpha-Beta54: Shizuka-sama, who said you could say anything?

* * *

"Shizuka-_sama_?" Kisame asked, raising an eyebrow.

**(Kisame's mental picture)**

"_Say my name, assholes!" Shizuka shouted, brandishing a whip at the Five._

"_Shizuka-sama, Shizuka-sama!"_

**(Kisame has a sick imagination)

* * *

**

"They wrote back." Tayuya pointed.

MrRedEyes: Itachi rules. Orochimaru sucks.

Their eyes widened as they turned to look at Orochimaru, who was instantly engulfed in temper-flames, eyes flashing dangerously as he grabbed the lap top.

"O-Orochimaru-sama, remember what the psychiatrist said about—"

"Curl up and die, Kabuto."

"Right, right…"

* * *

"I think you pissed them off," Shizuka told Itachi, pointing to the response.

Alpha-Beta54: **_I DO NOT SUCK! YOU SUCK! YOU SUCK ON FIVE MONTH OLD RICE, DAMMIT! _**

MrRedEyes: Go help a little old lady to her car or something, you idiot.

Shizuka smacked a hand over her eyes as Itachi entered the text. "He's going to cut you into itty bitty pieces and eat you."

* * *

Jiroubou and Kabuto held Orochimaru, kicking and screaming, to the seat while Kimimaro took control of the lap top.

Alpha-Beta54: Orochimaru-sama is so much sexier then Itachi will ever be. And I am not gay. It's just a well-known fact.

* * *

"What the hell?" Itachi shouted at the computer screen. "The old fag, sexier then _me_?" He turned to Shizuka. "Aren't I sexier?"

"Well… 'sexy' is a relative term…" she said with a shrug as Gaara took the lap top.

MrRedEyes: I will squish you all.

* * *

"…Does he actually say anything else?" Ukon asked, after a few moments of silence.

"Let's shut up for a while and see if he backs it up," Tayuya suggested.

"Good idea." Ukon whipped out a karaoke machine (Don't ask me where he got it, this guy is like, BOOM!). "Sing-A-Long time! Tayuya will be Jane!"

"…You cannot be serious."

"I am always serious!"

"…" Tayuya sighed, grabbing the microphone he threw at her.

"And Kimimaro will be Mr. Announcer-guy!" Ukon threw another microphone at Kimimaro, who just shrugged.

"And Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto-san can do back-up!"

* * *

"They haven't said anything in a while," Kisame said.

"My scary squish-ness must have scared them," Gaara said, nodding.

"No, they're probably just doing the Sing-A-Longs," Shizuka said with a shrug, totally unaware that she had just crushed Gaara's pride.

"What Sing-A-Longs?" Kisame asked curiously.

"…You don't want to know."

* * *

OrochimaruKabuto: Oo-ee-oo-ee...

Kimimaro: Deep in the jungle, in The Land Of Adventure, lives Tarzan

OrochimaruKabuto: Oo-ee-oo-ee...

Tayuya: I am Jane, and I love to ride an elephant

Ukon: My name is Tarzan, I am Jungle-man

Tayuya: The tree-top swinger from jungle-land

Ukon: Come, baby come, I will take you for a swing

Tayuya: Let's go, honey, I'm tingling

Tayuya: Tarzan is handsome, Tarzan is strong! He's really cute, and his hair is long!

Random Animal-insert animal noise-

Tayuya: Tarzan is handsome, Tarzan is strong

UkonTayuya: So listen to the jungle-song:

OrochimaruKabuto: Oo-ee-oo-ee...

Ukon:I am Tarzan from jungle, you can be my friend

OrochimaruKabuto: Oo-ee-oo-ee...

Tayuya: I am Jane, and I love to ride an elephant

Ukon: When you touch me, I feel funny

Tayuya: I feel it too, when you're touching me

Ukon: Come to my tree-house to my party

Tayuya:Yes, I'll go if you carry me

Tayuya: Tarzan is handsome, full of surprise. He's really cute, and his hair is nice!

Random Monkey-Insert monkey noise-

Tayuya: Tarzan is handsome, Tarzan is strong

UkonTayuya: So listen to the Jungle-song

OrochimaruKabuto: Oo-ee-oo-ee...

Ukon: I am Tarzan from jungle, you can be my friend

OrochimaruKabuto: Oo-ee-oo-ee...

Tayuya: I am Jane, and I love to ride an elephant

Tayuya: Yeah!

Ukon: Go Cheetah, get banana! Hey monkey, get funky!

Tayuya: Swing along, Tarzan!

Ukon: When I am dancing, I feel funky

Tayuya: Why do you keep ignoring me?

Ukon: Tarzan is here, come, kiss me, baby

Tayuya: Oochie coochie kiss me tenderly

Tayuya: Tarzan is handsome, Tarzan is strong

Ukon: Me Tarzan!

Tayuya: He's really cute, and his hair is long

Ukon: Long hair!

Tarzan is handsome, Tarzan is strong

UkonTayuya: So listen to the jungle-song

OrochimaruKabuto: Oo-ee-oo-ee...

Ukon: I am Tarzan from jungle, you can be my friend

OrochimaruKabuto: Oo-ee-oo-ee...

Tayuya: I am Jane, and I love to ride an elephant

Kimimaro: And so they got funky, but will Tarzan have Jane? Stay tuned!

* * *

"It's just not right." Shizuka shuddered.

"...I can see." Kisame raised an eyebrow at the above scene.

They suddenly noticed Itachi, sitting in a corner of the seat, muttering to himself about not being sexy.

"...Dude," Kisame said finally.

* * *

"Finally, we're here." Ukon started out of the car, only to be pushed out of the way by Kidoumaru.

"LAND!" the younger nin shouted, throwing himself on the ground. "Oh, sweet mother nature," he sobbed, petting the grass.

Everyone else: (sweat-drop)

"Huh? Shizuka-sama?" Jiroubou (finally making a speaking appearence) noticed the other car pulling up.

"UKON!" Sakkon wailed, hopping out of the other car, still tied up. "SAVE ME!"

"SAKKON!" Ukon cried, glomping him. (Twin moment)

"...Yeah." They all shook themselves, ignoring the potential yaoi fan fic before them.

Shizuka suddenly noticed Orochimaru, shackled and hand-cuffed to Kabuto's wrist. "OROCHIMARU! YOU SUCK! I HATE YOU!" she shouted, grabbing Kisame's samahade and hitting Orochimaru with it. "YOU MEGALOMANIAC JERK!"

"What the hell'd I do?" Orochimaru cried, unable to shield himself. "This fic is almost totally aside from _Apprentice_! All of the Five are alive! What'd I do?"

"Ever notice how, in every single one of this bitch's fan fics, I dress like a complete slut!" Shizuka shouted, beating him. "All I ever wear is mini skirts and tank tops and itty bitty dresses! Who's fault is that, hmm? Who buys the dresses! Who's fault!"

"Uh..." Orochimaru thought for a moment or so.

**(Six years prior to this event)**

"_Sakkon, I need you to go and buy some clothes for Shizuka, alright?" Orochimaru handed Sakkon a bunch of money. "Just pick out some nice things."_

"_Oh, I will, Orochimaru-sama." (Inner-Sakkon: Hell, yes, I will... Snicker-snicker...)_

**(Present time)**

"That was a fun shopping experience," Sakkon mused as Ukon untied him.

Itachi suddenly found a way to vent his frustration: Sakkon's preversion.

"YOU PERVERTED ASSHOLE!" the oldest Uchiha shouted, grabbing the samahade for himself and attacking Sakkon. "HOW DARE YOU BUY SHIZUKA ALL THOSE SKIMPY (yet sexy) CLOTHES AND THEN YELL AT ME FOR... for..." Itachi suddenly noticed Orochimaru.

"Yes?" Orochimaru frowned.

"Er..."

"Hello and welcome to the Haru-maki pyschiatry resort!" a cheery voice suddenly chirped.

They all turned.

"..._Sakura_?" Shizuka said in disbelief, raising an eyebrow.

"Hi!" she chirped, waving. Naruto grinned next to her, waving as well.

"...What the hell are you doing here? And what was that about 'pyschiatry'?"

"We're here to help you with your problems!" Sakura chirped.

"What problems? We don't have pr—"

"Wow, you're cute!" Ukon suddenly shouted, pointing at Sakura, who blinked.

"Um... Anyway, we—"

"I thought this was a hot spring resort!" Shizuka shouted.

"Psh-haw, you should read the fine print." Sakura waved her hand like it was totally unimportant.

"...Fine print?" Everyone instantly got out their invitations except Orochimaru, whose hands were currently unavailable for function, as they were tied up at the moment.

Tayuya got out a pair of rather thick, horned glasses, putting them on and looking closely at the lines around the invitation. "'Note: Hot springs only available to those who complete the pyschiatric procedures.' Oh, you scheming little bitch, you—" She noticed everyone starring at her. "What?"

"Tayuya, you wear glasses?" Shizuka asked curiously.

"Goggles is more what they are," Kidoumaru, who was still having a love affair with the ground, said grinning.

Tayuya yelped and instantly pocketed the glasses/goggles, glaring at them. "Please die."

"See? You have problems." Sakura shrugged.

"We don't have problems! We are a perfectly normal family of homocidal maniacs!" Shizuka, who now had Orochimaru in a choke-hold.

"...Right." Sakura smiled, dragging everyone inside (Don't ask me how she got everyone in there at one, this lady's like, WOW).

* * *

"Ok," she said, once she had Shizuka alone in a room with her and Naruto. "Now that we're secluded, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

"I don't have anything bothering me!"

"Is it because Orochimaru never let you go on any dates?"

"Oh he would, he just stalked my dates!"

* * *

"She's too young to take care of herself," Orochimaru answered with a frown. "I had to make sure nothing happened to her!"

* * *

"He would threaten to cut off their nuts if they touched me!"

* * *

"It's tough work, being a father, you know. If it weren't for Kabuto, I'd probably lose it."

* * *

"Orochimaru is the king of the idiots," Kabuto said, frowning.

* * *

"He always makes sure I get what I want!"

* * *

"The other day, he actually had the nerve to ask me to go to the store and pick up a pound of sugar so he could make _cucumber_ cookies!" Kabuto shouted.

* * *

"Kabuto is a very good cook, as it turns out."

* * *

"Who even _eats_ cucumber cookies! I ask you!"

* * *

Deciding that this discussion was over, they moved on to Kidoumaru and Tayuya's problems.

* * *

"Tayuya is a very mean lady," Kidoumaru confided, twiddling his fingers.

* * *

"Kidoumaru? Oh god, don't get me fuckin' started!" Tayuya cried.

* * *

"All I did was buy a Monkey Ball game!"

* * *

"He buys some stupid game with _my_ money! _My _money!"

* * *

"And then she just started hitting me repeatedly!"

* * *

"I was going to use that money to buy at atomic bomb!"

* * *

"Then, I offered to get her her _own_ Monkey Ball game, and she just started hitting me even more!"

* * *

"I needed those bombs, dammit! Do you see why now?"

* * *

"So I've been peeing in her coffee ever since." Kidoumaru snickered.

* * *

"So I've been switching our coffee ever since." Tayuya smirked.

* * *

Kidoumaru: Sip. Yummm...

* * *

That discussion was definitely over. On to Itachi and Kisame.

* * *

"What? I'm not even a part of this family!" Itachi shouted, struggling against the hand cuffs on the arm rests.

* * *

"Aw, you included me, how sweet!" Kisame cried.

* * *

"Kisame's a freak! An ugly freak!"

* * *

"Itachi hates me because I'm supposedly ugly. Itachi hates ugly things. Snif."

* * *

"Just waking up knowing I have to look at his ugly face makes me what to commit suicide!"

* * *

"He doesn't appreciate my finer points... He likes Shizuka better..."

* * *

"I can't stand the fact that there are so many shonen-ai fics written about us! How disgusting is that!"

* * *

"Just because she has boobies! That's all!"

* * *

"To think that I would even _consider_ having any bond other then comradery with that fish-face is just insulting!"

* * *

"I think Itachi is sexist to his own gender!"

* * *

Yep, that was over. On to Kimimaro and Shizuka.

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama is god."

* * *

"All he ever thinks about is Orochimaru! Orochimaru this, Orochimaru that!"

* * *

"He will make you his minions."

* * *

"I swear, one of these days, I'm going to just crack and strangle him!"

* * *

"You all will live off gruel and crumbs."

* * *

"And you know what sucks? He could actually be a must more popular character! He only got number 14 on the last poll!"

* * *

"What is fame when your body will one day rule the world?"

* * *

"I bet I could have him beat if anyone voted with me included!"

* * *

"Orochimaru is god."

* * *

"But no! SNG had to go and make him all _cute_ and _shy_ in _Crimson Love_! Now everyone loves him!"

* * *

Ok, no problems there. On to Sakkon and Shizuka.

* * *

"Shizuka-sama doesn't appreciate me!" Sakkon sobbed.

* * *

"He stalked me for three months!"

* * *

"I was just making sure she was ok! Is that so wrong?"

* * *

"He watched me have _sex_, dammit!"

* * *

"But she doesn't know," Sakkon snickered.

* * *

"But he doesn't know." Shizuka smirked.

* * *

"Now that I'm alive again, guess what I'm going to do?"

* * *

"Now that he's alive again, guess what I'm going to do?"

* * *

"THROW HER TO THE GROUND!"

* * *

"CUT OFF HIS TESTICLES!"

* * *

Ok, yeah, moving on! Jiroubou.

* * *

"People make fun of me," Jiroubou sniffed.

* * *

"He's so useless!" Tayuya shouted.

* * *

"They all hate me..." Jiroubou clung to his security blanket.

* * *

"He takes up too much ground," Kidoumaru confided. "Not enough for me to glomp!"

* * *

"They're meanies..."

* * *

"All he ever does is sit there and hug his teddy!" Sakkon shouted.

* * *

"They all hate Mr. YumYums, too!"

* * *

"It's the ugliest bear!" Ukon cried.

* * *

"But I can't find it now..."

* * *

"Tayuya got fed up one day and set it on fire!" Sakkon said, grinning pyschotically.

* * *

"Am I codependent?"

* * *

...Let's go see if the twins have any problems.

* * *

"Ukon bosses me around alot."

* * *

"Oh, where do I begin?"

* * *

"He thinks just because he's older, he can tell me what to do!"

* * *

"He's so damn clingy!"

* * *

"I like hugs, dammit, is that so wrong?"

* * *

"That's why there are so many twincest fics about us! Because he's so clingy!"

* * *

….While we're at it, let's check out Itachi and Sasuke. (Please note, Naruto is conducting these interviews)

* * *

"ITACHI RUINED MY LIFE, DAMMIT!"

* * *

"Sasuke is my pretty-face rival."

* * *

"It all started when I was two."

* * *

"He's rather annoying, isn't he?"

* * *

"You see, I wanted a donut."

* * *

"He's all mad at me because I, like, killed our whole family."

* * *

"But of course, Itachi wasn't going to let me have a donut, being Itachi."

* * *

"Is that wrong or something?"

* * *

"So he played a game of 'catch the donut'…"

* * *

"No one respects me…"

* * *

"Then he ate the donut!"

* * *

"My own girlfriend doesn't even tell me I'm sexy…"

* * *

"I've never had a donut in my life because of it! I bet he told everyone in the village to never give me a donut!"

* * *

"I have feelings, too, you know…"

* * *

"He just lives to make me miserable!"

* * *

"No one likes me…"

* * *

"Ok, after nearly having my life flash before my eyes," Naruto said with a sigh, "I've finally come to a conclusion."

"What's that?" everyone (including Sakura) asked curiously.

"Ok. You." Naruto pointed to Orochimaru. "And you, and you, and you, and you and you…" He pointed to everyone except Sakura. "All need to…"

They waited with bated breath.

"LOVE EACH OTHER AND ENJOY A DAY AT THE HOT SPRINGS, 'TTE BA YO!" Naruto threw his arms up in glee, grinning.

Everyone: Crash!

"Except Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried, clamping down on her crush/love/husband (but only in her head). "He stays with me! I'll help him with his problems!"

"What!" Orochimaru shouted, running at her.

"Look, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto jingled a ring of keys. "Shiny. Follow the shiny."

Orochimaru turned, eyes shining, to follow the keys as Kabuto headed towards the men's side. "Shiny…."

"Shizuka…!" Itachi whined, crawling up to her, looking pathetic. "Aren't I sexy…?"

She looked at him oddly.

Itachi: PUPPY DOG EYES!

"….Yes," she finally muttered.

"YAY! MY LIFE HAS MEANING!" He glomped her, squeezing the life out of her.

"DO NOT DEFILE—"

"Just let it go," Ukon said, catching Sakkon by the back of his shirt.

"YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!" Sakkon wailed. "YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH A PINK FREAK!"

Twitch. "SAY THAT TO MY FACE, LAVENDER-HEAD!"

"PINK FREAK, PINK FREAK, NYAH NYAH!"

"I WANT A CUCUMBER COOKIE!"

"MAKE YOUR OWN!"

"OROCHIMARU IS GOD, DAMMIT!"

"SHUT UP, KIMIMARO!"

"Don't worry, Kimimaro, we'll make them pay."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama."

And meanwhile, Jiroubou still searches for Mr. YumYums…


End file.
